At least 31 people were confirmed to have died while several others were injured when a passenger vessel caught fire Wednesday evening off Baluk-Baluk Island in Isabela, Basilan province. Commander Christopher Domingo, station chief of the Philippine Coast Guard in Zamboanga City, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 of Aleson Shipping Lines which listed 240 passengers and crew on its manifest. An initial casualty figure of 28 was confirmed by Commodore Rejard Marfe, PCG district commander for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as of 1:50 p.m. Thursday.

Ayeng, R., & Lacson, N. (2023, March 31). Dozens dead as ship burns. Daily Tribune, pp. A1, A6.