Terrified passengers forced to jump from burning ferry in the Philippines

544 people were on board the ferry when it caught fire off the city of Omroc

It is currently unknown how the fire broke out (AP)

Footage has emerged of the moment passengers were forced to leap into the sea to escaped a fire on a ferry carrying over 500 people.

The two storey ferry carrying 544 people caught fire after docking in the city of Ormoc, on Leyte Island in the central Philippines on Saturday and passengers were forced onto the roof of the MV Wonderful Stars to escape the smoke.

Two members of the crew were injured in the incident and were being treated in hospital, the office for Ormoc coast guard said.

There were no reports of other injuries.

A coast guard spokesman, Armand Balilo said it was not immediately clear how the fire started.

Firefighters were seen rushing to tackle the blaze on Saturday (AP)

This is the second accident to hit a ferry in Ormoc in recent months with a ferry capsizing in strong winds leaving 60 dead at the beginning of July.

Additional reporting by AP