A FIRE BROKE OUT on a passenger ferry in the waters off the western Philippines, the Coast Guard of the country said on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Because of the fire, at least 35 people have been reported dead and more than 54 other passengers are missing. Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the rescue operations are underway. 43 people have been rescued so far, while efforts are underway to find the missing passengers.

The fire broke out on the ferry, MV June Aster, after it had sailed from Manila and was near the coast of Coron in Palawan Province of the Philippines on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. The ferry was around 7.4 kilometres off the village of Turda, near its destination of Coron in Palawan Province, when the ship caught fire.

As per a report by The Hindu, Ms. Cayabyab said that a total of 134 people were on the ferry, among whom 117 were passengers and 17 were crew members. The ferry has a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew members. The Coast Guard also said that two of the passengers who were on the list failed to board the ferry.

Some footage was released from the scene, where Coast Guard personnel are shown throwing life jackets to save the passengers and recovering bodies, while the ferry was seen burning in the background.

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The Coast Guard spokesperson said that rescue operations are underway. Passengers were moved to small boats and taken to shallow waters during the rescue operations.

The ferry remained afloat in the water. By the morning of September 10, 2026, the fire was under control, but the ferry remained in the water and thick smoke was still rising from the vessel. The reason why the fire broke out is still unknown and is being investigated.

Rescue Operations in the Philippines Ferry

Images by the Coast Guard showed that the ship's interior was charred. It also showed body remains, ashes, and burnt metal everywhere. The survivors who were on the ferry expressed their fear and described how things turned out. Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva recounted in a video broadcast by News5, saying, “The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned.” He further said that, to save his life, he jumped out of the window and wanted to find a life jacket to save himself but failed because of the lot of people in panic running around. Some people also stepped on him.

Another passenger said that she waited at the rescue centre to find her missing daughter, who is 20 years old. Lira Daco said, “It’s painful to think that your child was asking for help while she was burning alive.” She added that it was even more painful as it was difficult to identify which remains belonged to her child. “It’s OK if she just drowned and we can recover her body and give her a proper burial. But now we can’t recognize or hug her,” she said.

Rescuers struggled to get inside the ferry on Thursday, September 10, 2026, because of the heat and smoke inside the vessel, which slowed the efforts to save people trapped inside. On Friday, the death toll rose to 35 as more bodies were recovered from the ferry.

(This is an updated version of the article)

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

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