Manila, September 10 (TNA) At least five people have died, and 87 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off the coast of Coron in the Philippine province of Palawan on Wednesday night, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Thursday.
The blaze broke out around 6.45 pm on the MV June Aster, which was carrying 134 people – 117 passengers and 17 crew – when it was about 1.2 nautical miles (roughly 2.2 km) off Barangay Marcilla in Coron municipality, according to Coast Guard reports. The vessel had departed from Baseco Port in Manila and was bound for the tourist hub of Coron when the fire engulfed the ship.
Coast Guard spokesperson Captain Noemi Cayabyab said 42 people had been rescued so far – 38 passengers and four crew members – while five casualties were brought ashore. “Based on the data we have right now on rescued (42) and the casualties (five), we still have 87 people who are unaccounted for,” she told a local radio station, adding that the ship’s manifest listed 134 passengers and crew.
Search and rescue operations continued into Thursday morning, with multiple coast guard units and local responders combing the area in rough seas for survivors and victims. The cause of the fire is under investigation.