Fire aboard Philippine ferry kills five, leaves 86 missing

A fire that broke out on a passenger ferry off the Philippines killed at least five people and left 86 missing, in what officials described as one of the country's worst maritime disasters in recent years. The MV June Aster was carrying 117 passengers and 17 crew from Manila towards the tourist destination of Coron in Palawan when the blaze erupted on Wednesday evening, burning for more than 16 hours before it was brought under control; coastguard officials said preliminary interviews with survivors suggest it started in the vessel's cargo hold, though the exact cause remains under investigation.

Of those aboard, 43 people were rescued, including seven taken to hospital on the neighbouring island of Culion, while other survivors were moved to an evacuation centre; officials noted that some passengers had not been wearing life vests. Survivors recounted harrowing ordeals, including one man who spent two hours in the water before being pulled to safety, and relatives of the missing turned to social media and hospital visits in a desperate search for news of loved ones. The disaster has revived scrutiny of ferry safety in the Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,100 islands where inter-island vessels are a vital but often poorly regulated form of transport; a similar fire in 2023 killed 31 people aboard the MV Lady Mary Joy 3.