Philippines: five died and 86 missing after fire on ferry near tourist hotspot

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A fire burned overnight on a passenger ferry off the western Philippines, leaving dozens of people missing Thursday and killing at least five. So far, more than 40 people have been rescued, coast guard spokeswoman Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said.

The blaze broke out on the M/V June Aster Wednesday evening about 2.2 km offshore, the coast guard said, adding that five casualties had been brought ashore.

Tendrils of smoke still wafted over the charred vessel by midday. “We are continuing search and rescue operations,” she said, with a coast guard ship and high-speed response boats joined by a military vessel and other government boats, private volunteers and fishermen.

Passengers were helped into smaller boats taking them to shallow water, and body bags were laid out at what looked like a port. The ferry had sailed from the capital Manila and was near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the fire started on Wednesday. Bad weather and big waves challenged rescuers.

Coast Guard rescued more than 40 people

Hundreds of people, desperate for news about the incident, have left comments on the Coron town mayor’s Facebook page, searching for relatives, friends and even a dog.

“Based on the data we have right now on rescued (42) and the casualties, we still have 86 people who are unaccounted for,” coast guard spokeswoman Noemie Cayabyab told a local radio station on Thursday.

She said 134 people were on board, 117 of them passengers and 17 crew. There was no information about any foreigners on board.

In January, a triple-decker ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern Philippines, killing at least 52 people.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank along nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire broke out aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry.