Philippine ferry fire death toll climbs to 76

The death toll from a Philippine ferry fire on Saturday jumped to 76 after the coast guard confirmed the discovery of 41 more bodies aboard the burnt-out vessel.

The remains would be transported to a port in Coron, Palawan, Philippine Coast Guard spokeswoman Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said in a statement.

Disaster agency workers carried coffins to a cemetery in the resort town, intended for the temporary burial of victims of the fire that tore through the M/V June Aster on Wednesday.

Philippine Marines secure the area as members of the Philippine Coast Guard carry the remains of victims that were recovered after the fire on the MV June Aster ferry in Coron, Philippines, yesterday.

Photo: AP

The first 30 bodies arrived by sea earlier on Saturday as forensic specialists began the painstaking process of identifying the remains.

The confirmed death toll now stands at 76, including five bodies recovered in the immediate wake of the incident. The ship sits grounded off the coast.

One-meter deep graves have been dug to hold the victims’ remains until DNA testing is completed, Kristine Ablana, a tourism official serving as an official spokesperson, told reporters on Saturday.

Relatives would be brought to identify personal items that might have belonged to family members.

“Once someone is able to verify ... that this photo or these belongings are indeed those of their relative, they will be asked to provide a DNA sample,” Ablana said.

Thirty passengers, including two Chilean nationals, and 13 crew have been rescued, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

About a dozen people are believed to remain unaccounted for.

Cayabyab said in a radio interview that the fire had begun in the cargo hold, then tore through the ship within seconds.

“From the time that they heard the loud explosion, the appearance of smoke, and then fire. It spread very quickly,” she said of survivors’ accounts.

“Everything happened in seconds,” she said, adding that those who made it off the ship had not even had time to put on life jackets.

Near the pier where the bodies were to be returned, an emotional Josenit Mayo, 40, said that her daughter had been aboard the ferry, returning from the capital Manila for a family visit.

“She told me: ‘Mom, I want to go home as I’m missing my siblings,’” Mayo said. “She insisted she was lonely.”