LUCENA CITY – Seven passengers perished when fire broke out on a vessel bound for Real, Quezon on Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

LUCENA CITY – Seven passengers perished when fire broke out on a vessel bound for Real, Quezon on Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

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The fatalities, aboard Vessel Mercraft 2, include five females and two males, PCG Commodore Armand Balilo said in a statement.

Three other individuals are in critical condition.

On hundred twenty individuals have been rescued while seven others are still missing.

The vessel had 124 passengers and 10 crew members with an authorized capacity of 186, the PCG said.

Vessel Mercraft 2 left Polillo Island at 5 a.m. and caught fire at approximately 1,000 yards from the Port of Real.

Rescue operations by personnel of the PCG – Real, local government unit, and crew members of nearby vessels are underway.

The vessel was towed to Baluti Island in Barangay Cawayan, Real, Quezon.

Police Colonel Joel Villanueva, Quezon police chief, said crew members of two roll-on-roll-off and other nearby vessels rushed to the site and helped rescue the passengers.

Mercraft Shipping, which owns MV Mercraft 2, had yet to issue a statement regarding the incident as of 9 a.m.

In December 2017, another vessel owned by the company, MV Mercraft 3, which carried about 251 passengers, capsized between the waters of Dinahican Point, Quezon and Polillo Island, which resulted in the death of five passengers.