At least five people have died and 86 remain missing after a fire broke out on a passenger ferry in the Philippines, close to the tourist destination of Coron in Palawan. The MV June Aster had sailed from Manila with 117 passengers and 17 crew when the blaze erupted on Wednesday evening as it approached its destination; strong currents and poor weather have hampered efforts to control the fire and search for survivors, leaving families anxiously awaiting news of missing loved ones.

The fire began at around 18:00 local time on Wednesday and was still burning by 11:00 on Thursday, with the vessel drifting several nautical miles from its original distress location due to strong currents. Of those aboard, 43 people have been rescued and taken to an evacuation centre, though the cause of the fire is still under investigation and authorities have not yet spoken to survivors. The disaster has prompted an outpouring of appeals on social media from relatives searching for missing family members, and highlights the broader risks facing inter-island ferry travel in the Philippines, an archipelago hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year.