Two dead, three missing following fishing boat fire in central Philippines

Two people were killed while three others have been reported as missing after a fire ignited on a fishing boat off Cebu province in the central Philippines on Wednesday, June 5.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the fishing vessel King Bryan was off the town of Naga when it the blaze ignited at around 20:25 local time on Wednesday.

Coast guard search and rescue (SAR) teams and the crew of a civilian tug later arrived at the scene and pulled six survivors and two bodies from the surrounding waters. One of the survivors, who was found unconscious, suffered third-degree burns.

The SAR effort is still ongoing in an attempt to locate the fishing boat's three missing crewmembers.

The coast guard said it is still investigating the probable cause of the fire.