Grim task begins as authorities identify ferry fire victims

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, PALAWAN, Philippines — Families of passengers who remain missing after the MV June Aster fire are facing another agonizing wait as authorities struggle to identify the bodies recovered from the charred vessel.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) warned on Saturday that the death toll of 35 could grow as some relatives who rushed to the island continued to hope that their loved ones survived the tragedy.

The ferry sailed from Manila, and was off the village of Turda some 39 kilometers from the Port of Coron, when a fire tore through it “in seconds.” At least 30 bodies have already been recovered from the ship’s economy accommodation as of Friday. Of the 132 people on board, 43 survivors have been accounted for, while 54 people remain missing.

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READ: Palawan ferry fire death toll climbs to 76 as identification process begins

The charred remains were transferred to the PCG vessel BRP Cape Engaño and brought to the Port of Borac in Coron on Saturday morning, PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemi Cayabyab said at a press conference in Manila.

She added that the remains have been turned over to the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operatives (PNP-Soco) for proper handling and identification.

For now, Cayabyab said, the agency’s priority remains the recovery of bodies from the ill-fated vessel.

“Currently, we are focused on the retrieval, and after that, we will proceed with the investigation,” she said.

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Missing captain

Search and rescue teams were able to finally enter the vessel on Friday, about 40 hours after the incident. But they had yet to access other sections, particularly the cargo hold where the fire reportedly started following an explosion.

“As coordinated with the incident commander, the cargo deck is still somewhat flooded. We will later determine the possible factors because, as we mentioned, the initial statements from survivors indicated that a strong explosion came from the cargo deck,” Cayabyab said.

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The PCG said it was trying to locate the captain, identified as Roel Sarmiento by Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc., the company that owns and operates the ferry.

Sarmiento was not included on the list of 43 survivors provided to authorities despite reports that he was alive, she said.

According to records from the emergency operations center in the area, the 43 survivors included 30 passengers and 13 crew members.

Cayabyab said the PCG had remained in constant communication with the shipping company but had yet to receive confirmation on the captain’s whereabouts or status.

“The captain is at large because all of the survivors are listed, but the name of the captain is not on the list, although I heard some information that he is alive. But as we speak, we have not received any statement or communication as to the status of the captain of the vessel,” Cayabyab said.

The PCG, she added, was exerting efforts to locate the captain because his account would be crucial to the investigation.

“Definitely the captain has a responsibility and a liability,” she said. “It is very important for him to come forward and shed light on what really happened, what he did, and what instructions he gave after receiving the report of the fire.”

‘Contributing factor’

The PCG has activated its Maritime Safety Investigation and Maritime Crime Investigation units to determine the cause of the Sept. 9 incident and establish possible liabilities.

Cayabyab said the initial phase of the investigation focused on statements from survivors, particularly their accounts of an explosion followed by the rapid spread of smoke and fire.

She said survivors recounted the incident happened quickly, with no time to get life jackets. A tarpaulin that shielded the open areas of the ship from the rain “may be a possible contributing factor but we can’t determine now if they were trapped inside,” Cayabyab added.

Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva, a survivor who recounted the chaos inside the ferry after the fire quickly spread, told a local news outlet that he couldn’t get a life jacket as people were in a panic and stepping on him.

Lira Daco, whose 20-year-old daughter is missing, said she was pained by the thought that her daughter could have burned alive, and at the difficulty of identifying her among the charred remains found in the ship.

Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staffer of the ship’s owner. The PCG said the foreigners have left Coron and authorities have coordinated with their embassy.

Fishermen to the rescue

Investigators will also check if fire emergency procedures were followed, including if the captain sounded an alarm or gave a warning and instructions, and if the crew assisted the passengers.

Images provided earlier by the coast guard showed the charred interior of the ship and what appeared to be human remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.

Among the first rescuers were fishermen Jun Razote, 55, and son, Manuel, 22, from Barangay Turda.

Razote said he received a call from a fisherman friend from Mindoro around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday about a ship on fire off Coron.

“As soon as I turned to look at the sea, I saw the boat already ablaze,” he said, adding that he immediately ran to inform the local coast guard.

He and his son then headed to the burning ferry and rescued two females and six males, all of them with burn injuries.

They then brought the eight to Turda where the villagers gave them first aid and other assistance.

“We immediately went back to the boat, but we didn’t find any more survivors,” he said.

Another fisherman, Roman Macoy, 58, was alone fishing when a coast guard team on a speed boat told him to follow them to the burning ferry. They rescued five men who were transferred to his boat and brought to Turda.

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Both Macoy and Razote are members of Coron Fisherfolk Association, which is affiliated with the Coron Fisherfolk Federation and part of the larger Bigkis ng Mangingisda Federation. —With reports from Gabryelle Dumalag, Oliver Teves, Agence France-Presse and AP