Dozens of people who sailed on this ferry are still considered missing.
The remains were found in the economy class rooms of the ship “M/V June Aster”. On Wednesday, a fire broke out and, as reported, spread within seconds, causing the ship to run aground near the tourist-favorite Coron, Palawan Island.
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The deaths of five people have been confirmed, but this number will undoubtedly rise.
“We cannot provide exact numbers about what we saw today yet,” said Coast Guard spokeswoman Commodore Noemie Cayabyab to the news agency AFP by phone.
“We will provide them once we complete the retrieval operations,” said N. Cayabyab, noting that a meeting is currently underway to establish proper protocols for this process.
N. Cayabyab added that the entire ship has now been searched.
Earlier, she told a radio station that the fire in the cargo hold engulfed the entire ship within seconds.
“Everything happened within seconds,” she said, adding that those who managed to escape the ship did not even have time to put on life jackets.
“Lost hope”
On Friday afternoon, police investigators, bomb disposal experts, and military personnel boarded two small rubber boats and sailed towards the ship that ran aground on a shoal on a small island near Coron.
A nearby covered basketball court became a gathering place for social workers and security personnel. The area was cordoned off from the public with police tape.
It was heard how a member of the police investigation department asked a colleague if “there are body bags there”.
A family member of one of the missing was crying by the pier looking out to sea.
Myra Cabilan told AFP she flew to Coron to look for her missing brother, 40-year-old Rammel Gonzaga, who sailed from Manila on the mentioned ferry with his brother-in-law on business.
“His wife gave birth just a month ago. He was so happy to have a daughter,” M. Cabilan said, holding back tears.
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“At dawn, I still believed he survived. But he is still missing. I lost hope,” she added.
Hundreds of people, desperately waiting for news about the incident, leave comments on the local mayor’s Facebook page, searching for relatives, friends, and even a dog.
History of disasters
According to Coast Guard officials, the ferry’s passenger list included 134 crew members and passengers, but two people did not board the ship. The ferry also carried goods, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck, and several motorcycles.
Thirty passengers and 13 crew members were rescued. On Friday morning, 84 people were considered missing.
The island nation with a population of 116 million has a long history of disasters related to inter-island ferries.
Despite frequent accidents, many residents rely on cheap and poorly regulated ships and boats for transportation between more than 7,000 islands in the country.
In January, at least 52 people died when a three-deck ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern coast of the Philippines.
The ship “M/V Trisha Kerstin 3” sank while sailing almost the same route where 31 people died in 2023 when a fire broke out on the ship “Lady Mary Joy 3”.
On Thursday, the company “Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc.” operating the “M/V June Aster” announced full cooperation with the investigation.
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