Death Toll in Philippine Ferry Fire Soars From Five People to 76
13 people remain missing and search efforts continue
As the Philippine Coast Guard searches the wreckage of the burned-out ferry June Aster, the death toll from the disaster has soared from five people to 76, with 13 still missing. Out of 132 people on board at departure, only 43 survived.
Last Wednesday, the ferry June Aster left Manila and got under way for the port of Coron, Busuanga Island. At about 1845 hours that night, the Aster caught fire at a position about one nautical mile off the town of Marcilla, on the east side of Busuanga. Survivors reported a blast followed by an intense fire; first responders arrived to find the vessel burning fiercely.
The wreck is hard aground off the coast of Busuanga Island, just south of Mindoro, making boarding and search comparatively safe for first responders. The effort to scour the wreck for remains is still under way. The main challenge now turns from search and recovery to the longer-term problem of identification of remains: the fire burned hot enough and long enough that DNA testing will be needed to figure out the victims' identities.
All images courtesy PCG
In a Sunday briefing attended by the Philippine Inquirer, representatives from the Philippine National Police (PNP) crime lab said that 71 of the bodies are "totally charred." The unit is resorting to extreme techniques, pulling molars from the bodies in hopes of extracting preserved DNA from well-protected dental tissues. Volunteer dentists are assisting the effort, the Inquirer said. The effort could take months.
Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos told the Inquirer that the Marcos administration would make every effort and assign additional resources in order to bring closure to the victims' families.
Indonesian Ferry Capsizes South of Borneo, Leaving Up to 140 Missing
Authorities in Indonesia are searching for an estimated 130 people after a ferry capsized in the Java Sea.
At about 0200 on Sunday morning, the ferry Virgo Transport8 was under way from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, and was about 80 nautical miles south of its destination. Passengers described rough surface conditions during the transit. At about 0400 hours, Indonesian SAR agencies received a distress alert about the vessel's situation. First responders on scene found that it had capsized.
The majority of the 108 survivors were rescued by a Good Samaritan merchant vessel, the MV Haida. The ship arrived in Banjarmasin on Sunday evening to disembark 69 rescuees for medical evaluation. The tanker Mauhau IX and fishing vessel Cahaya Bahari also contributed.
The head of Indonesian coast guard agency Basarnas, Rear Marshal Mohammad Syafii, told media on Sunday that it is believed (from the master's account) that the vessel was hit by a large wave on the starboard side, resulting in rapid capsizing.
A total of 108 people have been rescued, six have been confirmed dead, and an additional 129 to 140 people are still missing (local media accounts differ).
The estimate for the number of missing people in a Southeast Asian ferry incident will often fluctuate throughout the search, as informal, unregistered passengers are common and the total number of people on board at time of departure may not be known with accuracy.
The vessel's upturned hull remained afloat as of Sunday, raising hopes that some people may have survived in air pockets inside. Search operations continue on scene.
Large-scale ferry casualties are not uncommon in Southeast Asia's archipelagic nations, where geography favors water transport, economics favor older or lightly-maintained tonnage, and safety regulations are less rigorously enforced. This past week, the Philippine government responded to an accident of comparable scale involving a sudden and powerful fire on a ferry off Palawan.
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