Palawan: At least five people were killed, and 87 remain missing after a vessel caught fire near the tourist hotspot in Palawan Province of the Philippines. The local coast guard reported the incident on Thursday, following the blaze that occurred on Wednesday evening.

According to Nam News Network, the fire erupted aboard the vessel, which was carrying 117 passengers and 17 crew members. The vessel was approximately 1.2 nautical miles off the coast of Coron Municipality when the fire broke out. The local coast guard confirmed that 42 individuals have been rescued so far.

Video footage shared by the coast guard on social media showed the vessel entirely engulfed in flames. The vessel had departed from Manila and was en route to Coron when the fire began, as reported by local media.

Search and rescue operations are continuing as authorities work to locate the missing individuals.