We all love Jack and Rose from the Titanic, but have you heard of the Jacks and Roses from the Doña Paz?

Most of us know the story of the Titanic  Jack and Rose, the iceberg, the freezing Atlantic, and the more than 1,500 lives lost.

But there's another maritime disaster that is far less talked about, yet claimed nearly 4,400 lives.

On December 20, 1987, the Philippine passenger ferry MV Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait.

The Vector was carrying thousands of barrels of petroleum products.

The collision triggered a massive fire, turning the surrounding sea into a terrifying inferno. The Doña Paz was severely overcrowded, and many passengers had little chance to escape.

The Doña Paz was on fire, the vector shop that collided with it was on fire and the sorrounding waters around was also on fire so people were left with two choices -- get burnt and die in the shop fire or jump into the burning water and get burnt and die .

Only about 26 people survived.

The estimated death toll was 4,385 people nearly  three times the number of passengers that died on the Titanic.

And here's the crazy part :

More people are estimated to have died on the Doña Paz than the total number of people who were aboard the Titanic.

Just Imagine that

We remember Jack and Rose because their story was turned into one of the most famous movies in history but the doña Paz definitely had more Jack and Roses because it happened few days to Christmas. Lovers , family, children lost their lives that night on the Doña Paz.

But the thousands of real people aboard the Doña Paz had their own names, families, dreams, and stories too.

while the cold icy water killed the Titanic passengers, the burning fire consumed the Doña Paz passengers like they were nothing.

They were real people with dreams and aspiration. 

And their story deserves to be remembered.

🕊️ The Doña Paz disaster remains one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.