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Philippines: At least 6 injured in cargo ship fire at Manila wharf

Manila - The vessel, which was carrying fuel drums, had docked at the wharf in Tondo slum district to refuel prior to a domestic trip to Palawan province.

A fire and a powerful blast ripped through a small cargo ship docked to refuel in the Philippine capital of Manila on Saturday, injuring at least six people and igniting a blaze in a nearby riverside slum that gutted dozens of shanties, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the fire, which raged for about seven hours aboard the MV Titan 8 and forced its crew to jump in panic into the Pasig River. At least two crewmen who were on the vessel remained unaccounted for, officials said.

The vessel, which was carrying fuel drums, had docked at the wharf in Manila’s Tondo slum district to refuel prior to a domestic trip to the western Palawan province. Explosions rocked the vessel in the mid-morning followed by a fire, injuring crewmembers from the Titan and another vessel docked at the wharf, the coast guard said, citing witnesses.

Smoldering debris and fuel drums floated in the river from the Titan and sparked a fire in a nearby slum that hit about 40 structures, mostly shanties, the coast said. Coast guard personnel with water cannons on rubber boats helped extinguish the blaze.