5 dead as motorboat catches fire

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Five persons died and four others were injured when a motorboat caught fire at a private wharf in this city on Monday.

Chief Inspector Clint Cha, city fire marshal, said M/L Satellite 1, a wooden-hulled motorboat, was loading fuel from a tanker truck at the Ben Go wharf in Baliwasan when the accident occurred at around 8 p.m.

Cha said the crewmembers of the motorboat were repairing the water pump and one of them was testing the engine when the ignition sparked, triggering the fire. 

The fatalities, three of them identified as Razdi Imlan, Manzul Abidin and 15-year-old Sihdin Tingkahan, were trapped on the lower deck.

A car parked near the tanker truck was also damaged. 

Ardi Jumdani and Asi Nur, who sustained second to third degree burns, and Andong and Alsid Sal, who suffered minor injuries, were brought to a hospital for treatment.