Philippine ferry fire death toll reaches 76, with 13 still missing
Coastguard teams recovered 41 more bodies from the MV June Aster on Saturday. The ship was 2.2km from its destination when fire swept its lower decks.
The death toll from the Philippine ferry fire has risen to 76, with 13 people still missing, after search teams recovered more remains from the vessel off Palawan province.
The Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday that 41 more charred bodies had been retrieved from the ferry.
What happened
The MV June Aster was sailing from Manila carrying 132 passengers and crew when a blaze engulfed its lower decks on Wednesday evening.
It was 2.2 kilometres from its destination, Coron in northern Palawan, when the fire took hold. Rescuers pulled 43 survivors from the water that night.
Of 132 people on board, 76 are confirmed dead and 13 remain missing — meaning the great majority of those aboard did not survive a fire that began within sight of port.
What survivors describe
Investigators, citing survivor accounts, reported hearing successive explosions before flames swept rapidly through the passenger areas.
Commodore Noemi Cayabyab, spokesperson for the coastguard, pointed to conditions as a factor in how fast it spread. "The wind may have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, based on the survivors' accounts," she told the Inquirer.
She also described what that speed meant for those on board: "Some passengers reportedly jumped into the water after seeing the fire and may not have had time to retrieve their life jackets."
That detail explains the gap between a ship close to shore and a death toll of this scale. People entering the water without flotation, at night, do not have long.
Identification
Forensic teams and local police are working to identify victims using personal belongings and DNA matching.
The coastguard, the Philippine National Police's Scene of the Crime Operatives and other agencies are "currently undertaking the proper recovery and identification of the remains in accordance with established procedures", Cayabyab said.
Recovery of 41 bodies in a single day, three days after the fire, indicates teams reaching parts of the vessel that were not accessible earlier.
The investigation
Safety procedures and the ship captain's actions during the early minutes of the disaster are under formal review, maritime officials said.
The early minutes are where a fire at sea is decided. Whether an alarm was raised, whether passengers were directed to muster points, and whether the vessel was brought closer to shore are the questions such a review exists to answer.
The passenger count
The coastguard has raised a question about capacity alongside the missing. Cayabyab began to address the relationship between the number missing and the vessel's capacity, which is the standard concern after a Philippine ferry casualty.
The 132 figure is the number officially recorded as on board. Whether it matches the number actually aboard is among the things the review will establish.
Where it stands
Seventy-six dead, 13 missing, 43 rescued. The recovery operation continues.
