CORON, Philippines — The death toll from a passenger ferry fire in the Philippines has climbed to 35, with more bodies recovered Friday from the charred wreckage, leaving 54 individuals still missing.
Forty-three people survived the fire, which broke out Wednesday night. Coast guard images revealed the ship’s gutted interior, displaying charred remains, ashes, and burnt metal, including a vehicle.
Rescuers struggled to enter the vessel Thursday due to intense heat and smoke, hindering efforts to search for trapped passengers.
The ferry departed Manila and was approximately 7.4 kilometers (4.5 miles) off the village of Turda, near its destination of Coron in Palawan province, when the fire broke out. The cause remains under investigation.
“It’s agonizing to imagine your child begging for help while burning alive,” Lira Daco said, waiting at a Turda rescue center for news of her missing 20-year-old daughter, Cyriel.
“I don’t know how we will identify which one is my child,” she said of the remains found aboard. “It would be easier if she had drowned, allowing us to recover the body and give her a proper burial. But now, we cannot recognize or embrace her.”
Survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva described the terrifying night of the fire in a News5 broadcast.
“The fire spread rapidly. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” he said, adding that he jumped from a window. “I tried to get a life jacket but couldn’t because people were stepping on me. Everyone was panicking.”
The manifest listed 134 people aboard—117 passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity of 306 passengers and 27 crew. The coast guard stated that two passengers listed on the manifest reported they never boarded.
Two survivors were Chilean tourists, according to Rachel Conserman, a staffer for ship owner Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. They are recovering from injuries at a Coron hospital; no other foreigners were known to be aboard.
The shipping company stated it is assisting those on board and their families, coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to locate missing passengers and determine the fire’s cause.
Coron is a popular tourist destination known for its clear blue waters, limestone cliffs, and rock formations.
Ferries are a common mode of transport across the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are frequent due to storms, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding, and inconsistent safety regulation enforcement, particularly in remote provinces.
In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing over 4,300 people in the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
Reported from Manila by Cerojano.
