Philippines ferry fire: 30 charred bodies brought ashore for identification

Thirty charred bodies from the MV June Aster were brought to Coron as search teams continued recovering victims from the burned ferry. The tragedy has triggered criminal and safety probes into the crew's actions and the cause of the fire.Image used for representational purposes onlyThirty charred bodies recovered from the burned passenger ferry MV June Aster were brought to a port in the western Philippines on Saturday for identification, days after the blaze killed at least 35 people and left more than 50 others missing. Coast guard officials said recovery operations would continue as more bodies remained inside the vessel. There were 43 survivors among the 132 people confirmed to have been on board.Authorities have begun maritime safety and criminal investigations into the fire, including the possible liability of the captain and crew. Coast guard spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said officials were also looking for the ship's captain, who reportedly survived but is not listed among the survivors.The ferry had sailed from Manila and was near the village of Turda, about 39 kilometres from its destination at the Port of Coron, when the fire was reported on Wednesday evening. The cause of the blaze has not been determined. However, officials said a survivor believed it may have started in the cargo hold and recalled hearing a blast before smoke and flames spread quickly, fanned by strong winds.At the Port of Borac in Coron, in Palawan province, tents were set up as body bags were unloaded from a ship that had transported the remains from the burned ferry. The coast guard said the bodies were handed over to the Provincial Forensic Unit for identification. Cayabyab said survivors described the incident as unfolding so quickly that many had no time to get life jackets. She said a tarpaulin covering the ship's open areas from the rain "may be a possible contributing factor but we can't determine now if they were trapped inside". Investigators are also examining whether fire emergency procedures were followed, including whether the captain sounded an alarm, gave instructions and whether crew members helped passengers.Earlier images released by the coast guard showed the ship's charred interior and what appeared to be human remains, ash and twisted metal, including a burned vehicle. Survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva told a local news outlet that he could not get a life jacket because people were panicking and stepping on him as the fire spread. Lira Daco, whose 20-year-old daughter is missing, said she was distressed by the thought that her daughter may have burned alive and by the difficulty of identifying her among the charred remains. According to the ship's manifest, 134 people had been listed on board, including 117 passengers and 17 crew members. The coast guard said two passengers later told authorities they had failed to board, bringing the confirmed number on board to 132. The 53-metre vessel was licensed to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew. Two survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staff member of the ship's owner, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. The coast guard said the foreign nationals had left Coron and that authorities had coordinated with their embassy. The company said it was helping those who had been on board and their families while working with the coast guard and maritime officials to find the missing and determine the cause of the fire.Coron is a popular tourist destination, and ferries are widely used across the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon there because of storms, poor maintenance, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety rules, especially in remote provinces. For now, the focus remains on identifying the dead, locating the missing and establishing how the fire started on the MV June Aster.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 12, 2026 12:40 IST