Bodies from charred Philippine ferry arrive at port after fire that killed at least 35

CORON, Philippines (AP) — Thirty charred bodies found inside a burned passenger ferry in the western Philippines arrived at a port Saturday for identification after a ship fire killed at least 35 people and left more than 50 others missing earlier this week.

Retrieval operations will continue as more bodies are still inside the MV June Aster, coast guard officials said without providing a count. There were 43 survivors among the 132 people on board.

The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, and was off the village of Turda some 39 kilometers (24 miles) from its destination, the Port of Coron, when the fire was reported Wednesday evening.

The cause of the blaze has not been determined but a survivor said it may have started from the cargo hold. The survivor recounted hearing a blast, with smoke and fire quickly spreading, fanned by the winds, officials said.

Tents were put up in the Port of Borac in Coron, Palawan province, where body bags will be brought down from a ship that transported them from the burned ferry. The coast guard said the bodies will be turned over to the local government, with police officers assisting in identifying the charred remains.

Commodore Noemie Cayabyab, the coast guard spokesperson, said authorities are looking for the ship's captain, who reportedly survived but is not listed among the survivors.

The multiagency maritime safety and criminal investigations will look into all angles, and the possible liability of the captain and crew, she added.

Cayabyab 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,” she added.

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.

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.

According to the manifest, 134 people were onboard, with 117 of them passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew. Two passengers listed in the manifest reported to authorities that they failed to board, the coast guard said.

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

The shipping company said in a statement it was assisting those who were on board and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to locate the missing passengers and determine the cause of the fire.

Coron is a popular tourist destination known for clear blue waters, limestone cliffs and rock formations.

Ferries are frequently used for transport in the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon due to storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.

Cerojano reported from Manila, Philippines.