Philippine ferry fire off Palawan leaves five dead and 87 people missing
A fire engulfed the MV June Aster carrying 134 passengers and crew off Coron on Wednesday night, prompting overnight rescue operations by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Overnight blaze off Palawan
A fire broke out aboard the inter-island passenger ferry MV June Aster on Wednesday evening as the vessel neared its destination in the western Philippine province of Palawan. Vessel tracking data from MarineTraffic indicated that the ferry had departed from the port of Manila on its scheduled route to Coron. The emergency unfolded approximately 2.2 kilometres (1.2 nautical miles or 1.3 miles) northeast of Barangay Marcilla, within the municipality of Coron. Maritime authorities received the initial distress call reporting the blaze at around 18:45 local time on Wednesday. Video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard on Facebook showed extensive flames completely engulfing parts of the ship as it drifted roughly two kilometres from the coastline.
Search and rescue mobilization
Emergency response units from across northeast Palawan were immediately dispatched to waters off Coron to initiate rescue and evacuation operations. Local fishermen in motorised boats mobilized alongside official coast guard cutters, pulling passengers and crew members out of the water in the darkness. By 21:00 local time on Wednesday, rescue workers had safely transferred an initial group of 28 survivors to a designated multi-purpose hall in Barangay Turda. The Philippine Coast Guard also deployed an additional multi-purpose response vessel to the scene to reinforce ongoing search efforts throughout the night.
Just to make it clear, this is live data and may change as our search and rescue operations are ongoing.
- Coast guard receives initial emergency call reporting fire aboard the ferry off Coron
- Initial group of 28 rescued survivors brought ashore to Barangay Turda
- Coast guard reports 42 rescued, five dead, and 87 unaccounted for from manifest of 134
Manifest counts and casualty figures
The official manifest of the MV June Aster, operated by Atienza Interisland Shipping Lines, registered a total of 134 people on board, comprising 117 passengers and 17 crew members. Philippine Coast Guard Captain Noemi Cayabyab announced on Thursday morning that responders had accounted for 42 survivors, consisting of 38 passengers and four crew members. In an earlier count on Wednesday night, maritime authorities reported 43 people rescued. Search personnel recovered five bodies from the water and placed them in body bags before transporting them ashore, leaving 87 individuals officially listed on the manifest unaccounted for.
Based on the data we have right now on rescued (42) and the casualties, we still have 87 people who are unaccounted for.
- Missing or unaccounted for
- 87 people
- Rescued survivors
- 42 people
- Confirmed deceased
- 5 people
Fire suppression and safety conditions
Firefighting teams continued operations into Thursday morning to extinguish the remaining flames on the vessel while search teams combed the surrounding sea. The coast guard prepared specialized oil containment equipment on standby in case fuel leaked from the burned vessel into the waters off Palawan. Coast Guard officials noted that investigators had not yet interviewed survivors to determine the exact origin of the fire, as medical care and survivor intake remained the immediate priority.
However, we have not yet been able to obtain information from the rescued individuals because we have not been able to speak with them.
Water transport serves as a primary mode of transit across the Philippine archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, where inadequate vessel maintenance and deficient safety standards have frequently led to accidents at sea.
