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.