4 Pinoys killed in Florida blast

Four Filipino seamen were killed and two others were injured when the boiler room of a cruise ship in Miami, Florida exploded Monday morning.

The fatalities were identified as third engineer Ricardo Rosal, stokers Ramil Bernal and Candido Valenzuela, and oiler Rene Villanueva.

The injured were identified as assistant sweeper engineer Mari John Bautista and stoker Ramon Villaraez, who were both taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

The incident was ruled to be an accident and not a terrorist attack. A total of 17 crewmen of the Norwegian Cruise Line’s SS Norway were reported hurt in the blast, which also caused a fire on the ship.

The ship had a total of 911 crew members on board, mostly Filipinos.

Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the information was confirmed by the manning company which recruited the Filipino seafarers although she said she received initial reports that as many as seven more Filipinos were hurt.

"I am still waiting for additional information. But it’s confirmed already," said Sto. Tomas.

She said the SS Norway was docking at the Port of Miami after returning from an Eastern Caribbean cruise when the explosion occurred.

"Apparently the Filipinos who were killed and wounded were working in the boiler room when the accident happened," she said.
Miami-Dade police director Carlos Alvarez said the explosion was likely caused by a steam leak.

The force of the explosion tossed four crew members through an open cargo bay door into the water, Alvarez said. They were hauled back into the ship with a rope ladder. Miami-Dade fire rescue workers put out the fire in about an hour. — With AFP