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Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Officials rule out terrorism in ferry fire
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire that broke out on a ferry carrying more than 500 passengers while on its way to the province of Cebu, officials said Monday, but they were quick to rule out terrorism as the cause of the fire.
Officials said the vessel, m/v Our Lady of Fatima, left the port of Ozamiz City in Mindanao and was en route to Cebu when the engine room caught fire before midnight Sunday.
"The fire was later put under control by the crew and there were no reports of casualties or injuries. We expect the ferry to arrive in Cebu this afternoon," coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said.
Balilo did not know the extent of the damage of the ferry, but said all 552 passengers were safe.
Last month, a bomb explosion, blamed by authorities on the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, ripped through the ferry m/v Dona Ramona, which was docked in the southern island of Basilan, killing three people and wounding more than three dozens more.
The Abu Sayyaf was also tagged in two more bombings in Zamboanga City in July that left 26 civilians wounded. Last year, the group also claimed responsibility for the firebombing of the vessel Super Ferry off Manila Bay, killing several passengers and wounding over 200 people.
The United States listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization. Washington also offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, for the killing of two kidnapped US citizens in 2002 in Mindanao. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(September 20, 2005 issue)
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