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A fire aboard a passenger ferry off the coast of the Philippines has killed at least five people, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, and search and recovery efforts continue for missing passengers.
On Wednesday, the ferry June Aster left Manila and got under way for the port of Coron, Busuanga Island, just south of Mindoro. Based on early indications, is believed that there were 117 passengers and 17 crewmembers aboard. At about 1845 hours Wednesday night, the Aster caught fire at a position about one nautical mile off the town of Marcilla, on the east side of Busuanga. Multiple PCG units and other government agencies responded to the scene, aided by commercial vessels from the port of Coron.
Five bodies were retrieved from the scene and 42 people were rescued. The authorities are still working to determine the exact number of missing persons from the accident, but the number could be significant based on the initial manifest.
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com
