At Least 9 Die When Ferry Becomes Inferno

At least nine people were killed when a ferry sailing south of Manila caught fire before dawn Wednesday, the Coast Guard said.

Passing vessels plucked 118 people from the blazing Kimelody Cristy, as it burned near Fortune Island about 50 miles southwest of Manila, according to Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Joel Garcia.

Garcia said at least 16 other people were missing.

A sailor on the Tacloban City, one of the first ships to appear on the scene, said the ferry was a blazing inferno and had been abandoned by its crew in the short time it took to reach it after receiving a distress call.