At least five people were killed and 87 remain unaccounted for after fire broke out aboard a passenger ferry off the Philippine island province of Palawan on Wednesday night, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Thursday.
The MV June Aster caught fire about 2.2 kilometres offshore, Daily Mirror reported, carrying AFP. Video posted by the coast guard on Facebook showed the vessel completely engulfed in flames. The ship had sailed from Baseco in Manila and was bound for Coron, the Palawan tourist destination off which it burned, according to Hiru News, carrying Reuters.
The numbers reconcile
Both wire accounts put the manifest at 134 people. Reuters breaks that into 117 passengers and 17 crew; AFP gives the combined figure.
Coast guard officer Noemi Cayabyab said 42 people had been rescued — 38 passengers and four crew — leaving 87 unaccounted for once the five dead are counted. That arithmetic closes exactly: 134 minus 42 rescued minus five dead is 87.
Reuters puts the number rescued at 43, which would leave 86 missing. The gap between the two accounts is a single person.
The reports also differ on the officer’s rank and the spelling of her name: AFP has Captain Noemi Cayabyab, Reuters has Commodore Noemie Cayabyab, speaking to DZXL radio. Neither difference affects the substance.
Still a live count
“Just to make it clear, this is live data and may change as our search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Cayabyab said.
She added that the rescued had not yet been interviewed — “we have not been able to speak with them” — so the figures rest on the manifest rather than on survivor accounts. Efforts to extinguish the blaze were continuing.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Neither account reports the vessel’s operator, its age, or whether any distress call was made before the fire took hold.
Sources: Daily Mirror / AFP, Hiru News / Reuters.
