At least five individuals have lost their lives and 87 remain missing following a blaze that broke out on a passenger ferry in the Philippines, according to the nation’s coastguard. The incident occurred Wednesday evening on the M/V June Aster, approximately 2.2 kilometers (1.3 miles) from the coast near Coron, a popular tourist destination in the province of Palawan.
Coastguard Captain Noemi Cayabyab told local radio on Thursday that 42 people had been pulled to safety, with 38 identified as passengers and four as crew members. She emphasized that the vessel’s manifest listed a total of 134 people onboard, leaving 87 unaccounted for based on current data.
“This is live data and may change, as our search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Cayabyab stated, noting that authorities have not yet been able to interview survivors or determine the cause of the fire.
Video footage released by the coastguard on Facebook depicted the majority of the ship engulfed in flames. Reuters reported that 43 individuals were rescued by Wednesday night, while the Associated Press cited the same figure of 42 rescued on Thursday.
The ferry had departed from Manila before the blaze started. Reports currently lack any information regarding the origin of the fire.
Maritime accidents are a recurring concern in the Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,000 islands frequently hit by monsoon rains and typhoons that create hazardous travel conditions. Past incidents have often been attributed to inadequate vessel maintenance, overcrowding, and inconsistent enforcement of safety regulations. In January, a ferry carrying more than 350 people sank off the coast of Baluk-baluk island, resulting in at least 18 deaths.
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