Crew Member Killed in Containership Fire Off the Philippines

The Philippine Coast Guard responded to a fatal containership fire off the Philippines on Sunday after a pipe allegedly exploded on board.

The first was reported on board the M/V General Romula, with 20 crew members, on April 17 off of Talisay City in the province of Cebu.

Three crew members were reported with injuries and one is deceased. The body of the deceased crew member was reported to be still aboard the vessel, with rescuers unable to retrieve them due to the magnitude of the fire.

“Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Talisay received information that M/V General Romulo, a container ship and domestic vessel, was caught on fire while anchored at the vicinity waters off Talisay City,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “Immediately, personnel of CGSS Talisay and Talisay City Bantay Dagat responded to the incident and conducted medical evacuation.”

The cause of the incident was reported to be an explosion and the Philippines Coast Guard is “still identifying the particular pipe that exploded,” according to an update.

Firefighting was ongoing as of Sunday.

MV General Romulo was built in 1997 and is registered in the Philippines.

Some video from the response is below:

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