Chapter 2: Infernal At Sea
The ship was going at a steady pace. The passengers were settling in for the night. The Doña Paz was scheduled to arrive in Manila by morning. A survivor said that the weather that night was clear, but the ocean was wavy.
Around 10:30pm local time, without any warning, the Doña Paz collided with another vessel. It wasn't an ordinary ship: the MT Vector was on route from Bataan to Masbate, carrying 8,800 barrels of gasoline, diesel and kerosene owned by Caltex Philippines.
Immediately upon collision, the tanker's cargo ignited, settling of massive fire that soon engulfed both ships. Thousands of passengers were trapped inside the burning ferry.
Dozens of passengers leaped into the sea without realising that the petroleum products had also set the surrounding seas ablaze. Those in the water had to keep diving to avoid the flames spreading on the surface.
Of all Passengers and crew on board, only 24 survived.
YOU ARE READING
Worst Than The Titanic- MV Doña Paz
General FictionA Story of the sinking MV Doña Paz A ship that burned in the ocean, that collided with an oil tanker A story of how it began and how it end The world's worst peace-time maritime disaster
