Five dead and 86 missing as ‘heartbreaking’ fire breaks out on Philippines ferry

At least five people have died and 86 are missing after a fire broke out on a ferry in the Philippines, the country’s coastguard said. The MV June Aster, which set off from Manila ferrying 117 passengers and 17 crew members, was nearing its destination at the tourist hotspot of Coron when it caught fire. The blaze, which erupted at 18:45 local time (10:45 GMT) Wednesday, was still burning as of 11:00 on Thursday. The strong currents and thick smoke were a challenge to those working to extinguish it, the coastguard said. A survivor says he was in the sea for two hours before he got rescued. “It was cold. If the rescue was delayed, I would definitely have died,” Roland Lerma told the BBC. Video clips shared by the coastguard on Wednesday night showed the vessel engulfed in flames and people being pulled out of the water into rescue boats.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the coastguard said. The coastguard said preliminary interviews with the survivors suggest the fire started in the cargo hold, which is the compartment where containers and or goods are stored, the coastguard said. Some passengers were not wearing life vests, they noted. Forty-three people have been rescued but it is unclear how many have sustained injuries. Seven of the survivors were taken to a hospital in Culion, a larger neighbouring island, which has higher bed capacity and more comprehensive healthcare services. A first responder told the BBC they had never seen such a disaster in Coron, calling it “really heartbreaking”. “I was one of the people who carried and transported the casualties to the hospital last night,” they said, adding that the ferry was an hour away from its destination. The survivors were taken to an evacuation centre in Barangay Turda, which sits just north of…