A cruise off the coast of the Philippines turned into a tragedy, after a huge fire broke out on board a ferry off the western province of Palawan, resulting in deaths and the loss of dozens of people, while search and rescue operations continue.
On Thursday, the Philippine Coast Guard announced the death of at least five people, while 87 others are still missing, following the fire that broke out on Wednesday evening on board the MV John Aster ferry.
The ferry was about 2.2 kilometers from the coast when the fire broke out, while scenes published by the Coast Guard showed flames consuming large parts of it.
The Coast Guard confirmed that the bodies of 5 people were recovered and transported to land, in conjunction with the continuation of search operations for missing persons in the area.
Coast Guard Commander Noemi Cayabyab said, in statements to a local radio station, that rescue teams had managed, as of Thursday morning, to rescue 42 people, including 38 passengers and 4 crew members, while 87 people remained missing.
According to the passenger list, there were 134 passengers and crew on board the ferry.
In the background of the accident, data from the Marine Traffic website, which specializes in tracking ship movement, showed that the ferry had departed from the Philippine capital, Manila.
The causes of the fire are not yet clear, while rescue teams continue searching for missing persons off the coast of Palawan.
