Four injured following explosion, fire on berthed cargo ship in Manila, Philippines

A cargo ship suffered an onboard explosion and a subsequent fire while at berth in the Philippine capital city of Manila on Saturday, June 12.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the incident occurred at 09:00 local time while the cargo vessel Titan 8 was taking on fuel at Manila’s Delpan Wharf in preparation for a voyage to Palawan province.

The crew immediately jumped into the water after the explosion rocked their vessel, which later became engulfed in flames.

The fire then spread to shore and reached some houses in a nearby coastal community, forcing hundreds of residents to flee to safety.

The coast guard deployed vessels and divers to assist in firefighting, search and rescue (SAR), and pollution response.

Four people suffered varying degrees of injury from the incident. Two were crewmen from Titan 8 while the other two were crew from another vessel that was docked nearby.

Two of Titan 8‘s crewmen have gone missing and remain unaccounted for.

The fire in the affected residential area was fully extinguished by 14:57 on Saturday, while the blaze on the cargo vessel was finally put out about an hour later.

The coast guard has confirmed the presence of oil sheens near the fire-stricken vessel. These were later reported to have dissipated, though water sampling activities are still being conducted.

Authorities said Titan 8‘s cargo included barrels that contained petrol.