Video clips shared by the coastguard on Wednesday night showed the vessel engulfed in flames and people being pulled out of the water into rescue boats.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the coastguard said.
The coastguard said preliminary interviews with the survivors suggest the fire started in the cargo hold, which is the compartment where containers and or goods are stored, the coastguard said. Some passengers were not wearing life vests, they noted.
Forty-three people have been rescued but it is unclear how many have sustained injuries.
Seven of the survivors were taken to a hospital in Culion, a larger neighbouring island, which has higher bed capacity and more comprehensive healthcare services.
A first responder told the BBC they had never seen such a disaster in Coron, calling it “really heartbreaking”.
“I was one of the people who carried and transported the casualties to the hospital last night,” they said, adding that the ferry was an hour away from its destination.
The survivors were taken to an evacuation centre in Barangay Turda, which sits just north of Marcilla. The state of their injuries is unclear.
