A cargo vessel caught fire off the waters of Castilla, Sorsogon on Thursday morning resulting in injuries to eight crew, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

The PCG said that a fire broke out at MV Ken in the vicinity waters off Castilla Anchorage Area in Barangay Poblacion at 11 am.

The fire was declared out by 3:02 pm.

The vessel, which was owned by Pherwin Shipping Corp., was anchored when the fire occurred.

Based on the BFP’s investigation, the fire began in the mess hall of MV Ken.

At 3:42 pm, the PCG conducted an ocular inspection to find traces of a possible oil spill but it had a “negative result”.

The cargo vessel carried 2,300 liters of diesel oil and around 400 liters of lube oil, according to its inventory.

The PCG coordinated with the Philippine Navy and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to conduct joint search and rescue operations as well as firefighting operations. Jaspearl Tan/DMS