Five killed, 86 missing after ferry fire in the Philippines
In the Philippines, at least five people were killed and another 86 are missing after a fire broke out on the MV June Aster ferry near Coron in Palawan province. According to BBC News, the vessel departed from Manila and was approaching its destination when the fire broke out.
There were 117 passengers and 17 crew members on board. The fire started at around 18:00 local time on Wednesday. As of 11:00 on Thursday, the fire was still ongoing.
Search and rescue operations
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that 43 people had been rescued. They were taken to an evacuation center in Barangay Turda, located north of Marcilia. Information about their health condition has not yet been released.
Efforts to extinguish the fire and conduct search operations were complicated by strong currents and adverse weather. According to the coast guard, the ferry drifted from the initial disaster site, which was four nautical miles from Barangay Turda, to a distance of 7.68 nautical miles from it.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The cause of the fire is being determined. The coast guard said that at that point it had not yet spoken to any of the 43 rescued people.
Relatives search for the missing
Anelin Magbanua is searching for her husband Marlon, who spent several days in Manila visiting their two children studying in the capital. According to her, she last spoke with him when the ferry was passing a settlement about two hours from Coron port. He is still considered missing.
Also among the missing are spouses May Lorraine Galera-Navoa and Elizer Navoa and their three-year-old daughter Hiraya Joy. They were heading home to El Nido in Palawan. Their relatives are posting appeals asking for any information about the family.
In 2023, 31 people were killed in a fire on the passenger ferry MV Lady Mary Joy 3, which was traveling from Zamboanga City to Basilan Island.
