Death toll from Philippine ferry fire rises to 76
The Philippine Coast Guard said 41 more bodies were recovered from the ferry M/V June Aster, bringing the death toll to 76 with 13 people still unaccounted for. The vessel caught fire on Wednesday evening while approaching Coron in northern Palawan after departing Manila; 43 survivors were pulled from the water that night.
Why It Matters
The scale of the casualties and the ongoing recovery and identification work highlight a major maritime disaster with potential legal and safety consequences, and authorities have begun reviewing safety procedures and the captain's actions. The incident raises urgent questions about vessel safety and emergency response for inter-island ferries in the Philippines.
Key Facts
- death toll: 76
- people missing: 13
- recently recovered bodies: 41
- survivors rescued: 43
- vessel: M/V June Aster
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said recovery teams retrieved 41 additional charred bodies from the M/V June Aster, raising the confirmed fatalities from a ferry fire to 76 while 13 passengers and crew remain missing. The passenger vessel had been en route from Manila when a blaze erupted on its lower decks on Wednesday evening, about 2.2 kilometres from its destination of Coron in northern Palawan.
Survivor accounts collected by investigators described successive explosions before flames raced through passenger areas. PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemi Cayabyab said wind reported by survivors may have accelerated the spread of the fire, and that some passengers jumped into the sea and possibly did not have time to put on life jackets.
Forensic teams and local police are using personal effects and DNA matching to identify the recovered remains, and authorities said the PCG and the Philippine National Police’s Scene of the Crime Operatives are following established recovery and identification procedures. Maritime officials also opened a formal review of safety protocols and the actions taken by the ship’s captain in the early minutes of the incident; Cayabyab indicated there could be liability given the number of missing relative to the vessel's capacity.
The ferry operator, Atienza Interisland Ferries, said it would provide "full transparency" and assist affected families with lodging, transportation and medical care while investigations continue. Search and recovery operations remain under way as officials work to locate the remaining missing people and complete identification of the deceased.
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