Five dead, dozens missing in Philippines ferry fire

What the report says

At least five people were killed and dozens remain missing after a ferry fire off Palawan in the southern Philippines, according to reporting from Al Jazeera based on coastguard information and wire service accounts. The vessel, identified as the M/V June Aster, caught fire on Wednesday evening while sailing near Coron, a destination in Palawan province, and was about 2.2km offshore when the blaze began.

The Philippine coastguard said 42 people had been rescued by Thursday, while 87 others were still unaccounted for. The ship’s manifest listed 134 passengers and crew, and the coastguard said the number could change as search-and-rescue operations continued. Five bodies had been brought ashore. The article also noted that video shared by the coastguard showed the ferry engulfed in flames, but no cause for the fire was reported.

The incident adds to longstanding safety concerns around sea travel in the Philippines, an archipelago where ferry accidents have been recurrent. Al Jazeera noted that poor maintenance, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety rules have been cited in past disasters, though it did not attribute those factors to this case. The fire is significant because Palawan is a major tourist area and the search continues for survivors or missing passengers.