At least five people died and dozens remain missing after a fire on board a ferry in Palawan province, in the western Philippines. The fire started on the M/V June Aster ferry on Wednesday night, about 2.2 km off the coast, according to the Philippine coast guard. So far, 42 people have been rescued and five dead have been pulled from the water.
A video shared by the coast guard on Facebook showed the vessel completely ablaze. The area is near Coron City, a popular tourist region in the Philippines.
Hundreds of people left comments on the Facebook page of the mayor of Coron City looking for relatives, friends, and even a dog. The numbers of missing vary between 86 and 87 according to the sources cited in the article.
The fire on the M/V June Aster ferry occurs in the context of multiple maritime incidents in the region, including Ukrainian drone attacks on gas facilities in Russia and climate impacts affecting girls' education, as mentioned in other news from the same outlet.
