Twelve people died and 230 others were rescued after a fire broke out on a passenger ship off the coast of the Philippines’ Basilan province last night, an archipelago coastguard official said.

Nine other people were injured in the fire, which broke out in the ship’s air-conditioned cabins, the head of the coast guard in the Mindanao region told radio station DZMM. The vessel had a nominal capacity of 430 passengers.

Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the ferry, MV Lady Mary Joy 3, as crews spray it with water and carry its passengers to shore.

The Coast Guard said it would contribute to the investigation into the accident and assess the safety of the vessel, adding that it was looking into whether there had been a fuel leak from the ferry.

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands and islets, has a poor record when it comes to maritime safety, with ships often carrying too many passengers and many shipping lines using aging vessels. Marine accidents are frequent in the country.

In May 2022, at least seven people died when a fire broke out on a passenger ship with 134 people on board.