Captain's mother among MV Mercraft 2 fire fatalities —PCG

The mother of MV Mercraft 2's captain was among those who perished when the fast craft vessel caught fire off Quezon on Monday, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said Tuesday.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, Balilo said the captain’s father, meanwhile, survived the incident.

“Hawak namin yung kapitan. Yung report, namatay yung kanyang nanay at yung kanyang ama ay nakaligtas na kasama niya ring bumiyahe,” he said.

(The captain is in our custody. Based on the report, the captain’s mother died while the father was safe. They traveled together.)

The PCG earlier identified the boat captain as John Lerry Escareces. Among the seven identified fatalities due to the incident was Charito Escareces, 57 years old.

MV Mercraft 2, in its Polillo-Real-Polillo travel route, caught fire off the coast of the province of Quezon early Monday morning.

There were 134 persons onboard the fast craft including 126 passengers and eight crew members.

Balilo said 24 persons were injured and three of them are in critical condition.

According to the PCG official, the owner of the vessel is already working on providing initial assistance to the victims of the ship fire.

“Nakausap ko na po namin yung may-ari at ang alam ko meron nang inisyal na tulong na ginagawa [We already talked to the owner and from what I know they are already giving initial assistance],” he said.

Citing the regulation of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Balilo said the family of the victims who died in sea incident are entitled to assistance.

PCG’s marine casualty investigation team has been instructed to start an investigation into the incident, he added. —KBK/RSJ, GMA News