Seven people have died after a high-speed Philippine ferry carrying 134 people caught fire on Monday, with seven passengers still missing, the coast guard said.

The ship caught fire just before reaching the port of Real in Quezon province, about 60 km east of the capital Manila. It had left Polilio Island at 5:00am local time (9.00pm GMT Sunday) and made a distress call at 6:30am.

Five women and two men had died, while 120 passengers had been rescued, with 23 of them treated for injuries, the coast guard said in a statement./agencies