Fire on Philippine ferry kills five, 87 still missing

At least five people were killed and 87 remain unaccounted for after a fire erupted aboard a ferry near a tourist hotspot in the Philippine province of Palawan, the coastguard said on Thursday.

The fire aboard the MV June Aster broke out on Wednesday evening about 2.2km (1.3 miles) offshore, the coastguard said, adding that five casualties had been brought ashore.

Video shared by the coastguard on social media showed the vessel completely engulfed in flames.

“Based on the data we have right now on rescued [42] and the casualties, we still have 87 people who are unaccounted for,” coastguard Captain Noemi Cayabyab told a local radio station on Thursday, adding the ship’s manifest had listed 134 passengers and crew.

“Just to make it clear, this is live data and may change as our search and rescue operations are ongoing,” she said.

Of those rescued, 38 were passengers and four were crew, Cayabyab said.