Philippine rescuers pull more victims from charred ferry

CORON

AP Photo

The bodies of 41 victims of the worst Philippine ferry disaster in over a decade made their way through the blue waters of a resort area yesterday, bound for a dock where forensic investigators awaited them.

Days after a fire ripped through the M/V June Aster, it is clear few of its victims ever made the water, with nearly all of the 76 confirmed dead found aboard the grounded vessel.

The 24-year-old ferry, known locally as a “roro” (roll-on, roll-off), was carrying vacationers, businesspeople and families headed for loved ones in Coron, Palawan, when it erupted in flames following an explosion in its hold.
Some areas, such as the cargo deck and engine room, remain to be searched.

“The water is still high,” Commodore Noemie Cayabyab told reporters yesterday on the deck of the BRP Melchora Aquino, a 97-meter coast guard vessel.

“The focus right now is to retrieve [any additional bodies].”

The coast guard confirmed late Sept. 12 that 41 more corpses had been found aboard the June Aster, bringing the death toll from a blaze that swept through the vessel “in seconds” to 76 passengers and crew.

Earlier in the day, 30 corpses, charred badly enough that DNA must be extracted from teeth and bones, were brought ashore to waiting examination tents.

Some will be “temporarily” buried in a local cemetery pending identification.

Thirty passengers, including two Chilean nationals and 13 crew, have been rescued, according to the coast guard. Five others were declared dead in the immediate aftermath of the incident.