A fire broke out on the ferry MV June Aster off the coast of Coron in the Philippines' Palawan province on Wednesday night, killing five people and leaving 86 missing, in what could become one of the country's deadliest maritime disasters. Survivor Roland Lerma described chaotic scenes as passengers scrambled to escape, telling the BBC he was trampled after falling before crawling to safety and leaping into the sea, where he floated for around two hours before being rescued.

The vessel, carrying more than 100 passengers as well as vehicles and machinery, had departed Manila on Tuesday night bound for Coron, with the fire reported roughly 1.2 nautical miles from shore on Wednesday evening. A survivor told authorities the blaze began in the cargo hold following a loud explosion, and the fire reportedly remained unextinguished as search and rescue efforts continued, with 43 people rescued so far, including two Chilean nationals. Families of missing passengers, including that of Marlon Magbanua, are anxiously awaiting news as operations continue.