Philippines ferry fire death toll rises to 35, search for missing continues
Philippine firefighters on Friday entered the smoldering remains of a ferry off the coast of Coron island to search for dozens of people still unaccounted for after the vessel caught fire on Wednesday evening.
The search operation was complicated by heavy smoke and extreme heat as rescuers combed through the burned-out MV June Aster. The Philippines Coast Guard said rescuers recovered 30 bodies from the ferry, raising the death toll from the incident to 35.
Earlier, firefighters had reported that five people had died, 43 had been rescued and more than 80 were missing. Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Noemi Cayabyab said charred remains had been found in the economy accommodation area, but the exact number of victims could not yet be confirmed.
Cayabyab said police forensic investigators would need to examine the remains as part of the recovery and identification process. “We can’t provide exact numbers yet on what we saw today,” Cayabyab told AFP, adding that confirmed figures would be provided after retrieval and recovery operations.
The MV June Aster had departed from Manila and was approaching the tourist destination of Coron in the western Philippine province of Palawan when it caught fire just off the coast.
The Coast Guard revised the number of missing people from 86 to 84 after confirming that two people listed on the passenger manifest had not been on board. Cayabyab said the fire spread within seconds, according to accounts from survivors. “From the time that they heard the loud explosion, the appearance of smoke, and then fire. It spread very quickly,” she said in a radio interview.
Some passengers did not have enough time to put on life jackets and jumped into the sea, where nearby fishermen rescued them. The Coast Guard has deployed several vessels and divers to the site, while army rescue boats, fishermen and private resort owners have also joined the search and rescue effort.
Cayabyab later said the fire began in the cargo hold and may have spread more rapidly because of strong winds. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined, although survivors reported hearing explosions inside the vessel before a small fire quickly escalated and engulfed the ferry.
The vessel caught fire about 7 kilometers off the village of Turda. The ferry was carrying electric cars, motorcycles, cargo and heavy-duty equipment, as well as provisions for crew members and passengers.
Ferries are among the most widely used forms of transportation in the Philippines, an archipelago of about 7,600 islands. The country has a history of maritime accidents, with some incidents linked to overcrowding, adverse sailing conditions and weak safety standards.
— dw.com
