Deadly Philippines ferry fire triggers search for scores of missing

Multiple search and rescue vessels deployed after blaze off Palawan island leaves at least five dead, says coast guard

A large-scale ⁠search and rescue operation ​is under way off the western Philippine island of Palawan on Thursday after a passenger ferry caught fire, killing five people and leaving ⁠scores of passengers missing.

The Philippine coast guard said multiple vessels and other assets were searching for survivors as rescue teams used drift-modelling tools ⁠to identify areas where people may have been carried by currents.