Palawan ferry captain confirmed alive as search ops continue

CALAPAN CITY — The captain of the ill-fated MV June Aster is alive and had contacted his employers as search and recovery operations continued aboard the vessel five days after the maritime tragedy, authorities said on Tuesday.

The condition of June Aster captain Roel Sarmiento was confirmed after he reached out to Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc., the vessel’s operator,  said Kristine Mechelle Ablaña, spokesperson for the Coron Emergency Operations Center (EOC), in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning. 

However, authorities have yet to explain why the captain only made contact five days after the sea tragedy that killed 76 people. 

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READ: Search continues for 12 missing passengers of fire-hit ferry

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“We have just received the information,” Ablaña said, adding that no other details are available yet on the captain’s whereabouts or how he surfaced following the tragedy.

Meanwhile, dewatering operations were continuing at the lowest section of the sunken vessel as authorities aimed to retrieve any more bodies that may still be inside.

The operation is intended to clear the vessel’s remaining sections, Ablaña said.

Questions about the captain’s whereabouts surfaced after surviving crew members said he was safe and alive, even if his name was not on the list of survivors. 

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The Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority have earlier stressed the importance of the captain’s account in determining how the fire aboard the vessel started.

His testimony is also expected to help investigators establish whether emergency protocols were properly followed when the tragedy occurred./coa