Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority are also probing the incident to prevent a repeat of the incident.
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Coast Guard spokesperson Armand Balilo said it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire.
Fire was declared out only after nine hours.
A fireman trains his hose at the burning MV Wonderful Stars ferry which caught fire at the port in Ormoc city in central Philippines early Saturday, August 15, 2015.
An investigation will be launched to determine the cause of the fire.
Only four of the 23 vehicles on board were safely removed.
The owners and operators of the ferry, Roble Shipping Lines, several brand new cars were on board to be delivered to a dealer in Leyte.
It was the second time a fire hit one of the company’s vessels.
Last month, a ferry was capsized moments after departing Ormoc, leaving more than 60 people dead. “We don’t hire crew and officers who have not undergone fire drills”, Roble said.
The Wonderful Stars skipper, Rodolfo Saavedra, 50, said the ferry, which had come from Cebu City, had just docked at the Ormoc pier at 4:30 a.m. when a crewmember sounded the alarm.
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However, authorities said three crew members were injured and brought to a nearby hospital.
