After the sea mishap that happens in the eve of Christmas another sea tragedy hit the Philippines during the Christmas holidays after an inter-island ferry carrying more than 80 people sank off waters in Batangas province Saturday night, just days after a similar disaster claimed up to 27 lives.

Yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announces in its 3:30 p.m. bulletin the incident on the MV Baleno 9. As of posting time the tragedy the PCG recorded 6 casualties. Danny Asedillo, Calapan Port terminal supervisor, identified 5 of the fatalities as Jenny Cabral Mutia, 36 of Socorro, Oriental Mindoro; Lealyn Penaranda, 20 of Pola, Oriental Mindoro; Angelica Balanza, 8-months old baby; Jennilyn Gutierrez and June Panagsayan.

The MV Baleno 9, a roll-on roll-off (RORO) vessel, reportedly began listing and went down just before midnight near Batangas City. Sixty-two passengers have been rescued, while 20 people remain missing, according to the PCG bulletin. The ill-fated RORO vessel, which left Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro at 9:30 p.m has a maximum capacity to carry 284 people.

MV Baleno 9 is owned by Besta Shipping Lines. Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the incident.

The Philippines experiences frequent shipping accidents, usually involving poorly-maintained, overloaded ferries, which are the backbone of travel between the archipelago’s islands. The world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster occurred south of Manila in 1987 when a ferry laden with Christmas holidaymakers collided with a small oil tanker, killing more than 4,000 people.

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