Five dead and dozens missing after passenger ferry catches fire in the Philippines

What happened

A massive search and rescue operation is underway off the western Philippine province of Palawan, where a passenger ferry caught fire on Wednesday night, leaving five people dead and dozens missing.

Rescuers have deployed vessels and are using drift-modelling software to track where currents might have carried survivors. However, their efforts have been severely hampered by thick smoke and extreme heat, which have prevented teams from boarding the blackened, drifting hull of the MV June Aster.

The vessel was carrying 134 people—117 passengers and 17 crew—when the fire broke out at around 6:45 pm local time, just over a mile from its destination of Coron, a popular tourist town famed for its diving and beaches. The ferry had departed Manila’s Port of Baseco on Tuesday night for what is normally a 20-hour journey.

Who is involved

So far, only 43 people have been rescued, leaving at least 86 people unaccounted for. Among those pulled from the water were two Chilean nationals, according to local coast guard officials.

Survivors described scenes of sheer terror as the fire took hold in the dark. Roland Lerma, a 30-year-old construction worker travelling to Palawan for work, said he fell while scrambling to get off the burning boat. "When I was on the floor, people were trampling me," he said. He managed to crawl to his feet and jump into the cold sea, where he discarded his clothes and phone so he could float. He spent two hours drifting on his back before rescuers found him.

Another survivor, Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva, said the fire spread so quickly he was unable to grab a life jacket. "I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me," he said, adding that he eventually escaped by leaping through a window.

What happens next

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but coast guard officials said a survivor reported hearing a loud explosion in the cargo hold before the flames erupted. The ferry was carrying several motorcycles, an electric car, a forklift, and a pick-up van.

Atienza Shipping Lines, which owns the ferry, said in a statement that it is cooperating fully with the investigation and is working to assist the survivors and the families of those missing.

For those waiting on land, the delay in finding survivors has been excruciating. Anelyn Magbanua went to the hospital in Coron hoping to find her husband, Marlon, who had been returning from a visit to their children in Manila. She was told he remains among the missing. "I can't describe what I am feeling right now," she said. "I have been crying and praying since last night."

Key numbers

The disaster is the latest in a long history of maritime accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands where millions rely on boats and ferries to travel between provinces. Safety regulations are often poorly enforced, and vessels are frequently overcrowded or badly maintained. In January, another ferry disaster off the coast of Baluk-baluk island claimed 18 lives.