A passenger ferry caught on fire overnight on Thursday off the western Philippines, killing at least five and leaving dozens of people missing.
The blaze broke out on the M/V June Aster Wednesday evening about 2.2 km offshore, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
The ferry had sailed from the capital Manila and was near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the blaze broke out on Wednesday night.
More than 40 people have been rescued, Coast Guard spokeswoman Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said, despite challenging weather conditions. Five casualties had been brought ashore.
"Based on the data we have right now on rescued (42) and the casualties, we still have 86 people who are unaccounted for," Cayabyab told a local radio station on Thursday.
