At least 30 bodies recovered in ferry

MANILA, Philippines — At least 30 bodies, mostly badly burned, have been recovered in the roll-on, roll-off passenger ferry MV June Aster, after the fire that engulfed the ship off Coron in Palawan was finally put out yesterday.

This brought the confirmed deaths to 35, the Philippine Coast Guard said. About 60 more passengers and crew remain missing.

The PCG said retrieval and transfer of the bodies began at 5:16 p.m.  utilizing the BRP Cape Engaño.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the remains were expected to arrive at the Port of Borac in Coron this morning.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) mobilized search and rescue teams to assist in finding the missing.

June Aster departed the Port of Manila at 8:13 p.m. on Tuesday and was expected to arrive at the Port of Coron at 6 p.m. the following day. But at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, a fire broke out while the ferry was 2.2 kilometers offshore.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said yesterday that Maritime Group personnel joined the PCG in the search for the missing.

“Time is crucial and essential for this kind of unfortunate incident and we continue to assist and deploy as many of our available personnel and resources to assist, especially in the conduct of search and rescue for the missing passengers and crew,” he said.

Police units in Palawan, particularly in coastal areas near the site, are coordinating with barangay officials for search and rescue operations.

Medical and other response teams are also in the area to look after the survivors and assist in identifying cadavers.

Nartatez ordered police units to assist in the investigation to find out what caused the fire and establish who might be held liable.

Fire out

Authorities declared the fire aboard June Aster out at 10:15 a.m. yesterday, the PCG said, adding that burnt remains were discovered during the assessment.

Cayabyab said the Coast Guard response team conducted a thorough safety assessment, during which burnt remains were observed within the economy section of the vessel.

“The PCG, PNP-SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives) and other concerned agencies are currently undertaking the proper recovery and identification of the remains in accordance with established procedures,” Cayabyab said.

She noted that the number of missing people went down to 84 from 86, after two passengers who were part of the manifest reported that they were not able to board the ship.

The PCG laid out oil spill booms as a precautionary measure, even as an assessment found no signs of oil sheen in the surrounding waters.

Cayabyab said the chances that the ferry would sink are remote, as it “is sitting on a rock in that area.”

Authorities are not discounting the possibility of terrorism as cause of the fire that broke out aboard June Aster on Wednesday night.

In an interview with dzBB, Cayabyab was reacting to reports that the incident was an act of terrorism.

“We heard that too, so we are not discounting all the information that we will receive. Well, probably the reason for that was we saw an explosion, so that thing is somewhat connected.” — Emmanuel Tupas