Manila (AFP) – At least five people were killed and 86 remain missing after a fire erupted aboard a ferry near a tourist hotspot in the Philippine province of Palawan, the coast guard said Thursday.
The blaze broke out on the M/V June Aster Wednesday evening about 2.2 kilometres (1.3 miles) offshore, the coast guard said, adding that five casualties had been brought ashore.
Video shared by the coast guard on Facebook showed the vessel completely engulfed in flames.
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 87 people who are unaccounted for," coast guard Captain Noemi Cayabyab told a local radio station on Thursday.
The ship's manifest had listed 134 passengers and crew, Cayabyab said.
Of those rescued, 38 were passengers and four were crew, she added.
Hours later, the Philippine Coast Guard told reporters that another person had been rescued, but their identity had yet to be confirmed.
"Just to make it clear, this is live data and may change as our search and rescue operations are ongoing," Cayabyab said in the radio interview.
"However, we have not yet been able to obtain information from the rescued individuals because we have not been able to speak with them," she said, adding attempts to put out the blaze were ongoing.
There were no immediate reports of foreigners on board.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the June Aster had departed from Manila.
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.