Philippines Ferry Fire Death Toll Reaches 76

The death toll from the MV June Aster ferry fire in the Philippines has risen to 76 after the Philippine Coast Guard recovered 41 bodies from the wreckage. The vessel caught fire on Wednesday while approaching Coron, a popular tourist destination in Palawan, after departing from Manila. More than 130 people were aboard, including 117 passengers and 17 crew members. Authorities said 43 people survived, although many remain in hospital, while 13 people are still unaccounted for. Recovery efforts were delayed by toxic fumes and intense residual heat, preventing rescuers from boarding the ferry until Friday. Officials are now prioritizing the identification of victims and investigating the cause of the fire. Relatives are being asked to identify personal belongings and provide DNA samples to help confirm victims’ identities. The coast guard said the fire started in a cargo hold and spread rapidly. Survivors reportedly heard a loud explosion followed by smoke and flames. The blaze spread so quickly that many people were unable to put on lifejackets before evacuating. One survivor told the BBC that passengers panicked, with some people trampling others as they tried to escape. The ferry was built in 2002, held valid safety certificates and passed an enforcement inspection in March. However, investigators are examining possible discrepancies in the passenger manifest, the integrity of the cargo loading, and the crew’s emergency response procedures. Atienza Interisland Ferries, which operated the vessel, has pledged to cooperate fully with the inquiry. The investigation will also seek to establish how the fire began and whether safety procedures were properly followed.

The death toll from a fire aboard the M/V June Aster ferry off Palawan, Philippines, has risen to 35, with officials warning that the number is likely to increase. Thirty bodies were brought to a port near the resort town of Coron on Saturday, while additional remains were believed to be aboard the vessel. Five other deaths had already been confirmed after the fire broke out on Wednesday evening and caused the ferry to run aground. The bodies were recovered from the ship’s economy accommodation area and were to be handed to police forensic investigators for identification before relatives were notified. Coast guard spokesperson Noemie Cayabyab said the initial transfer was limited to 30 bodies because of the patrol vessel’s capacity. Thirty passengers and 13 crew members have been rescued, while 54 people remain unaccounted for. The ferry’s manifest listed 134 crew and passengers, although two people reportedly did not board. Survivors said the fire began in the cargo hold after a loud explosion and spread through the vessel within seconds, leaving people no time to put on lifejackets. The ferry was also carrying goods, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck and motorcycles. Families gathered in Coron seeking information, including Myra Cabilan, whose brother Rammel Gonzaga remains missing after traveling from Manila on business. The disaster has renewed attention on the Philippines’ long history of ferry accidents. Many people rely on inexpensive, poorly regulated inter-island vessels to travel among the country’s more than 7,000 islands. The ferry’s owner, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc, said it was cooperating fully with the investigation, while authorities continued recovery operations and prepared a formal inquiry into the cause of the fire.

At least 76 people have died after a fire engulfed the MV June Aster ferry off Coron island in Palawan, the Philippines, while 13 others remain unaccounted for. The vessel was carrying 134 people—117 passengers and 17 crew members—and had departed Manila for Coron when the blaze began at about 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Survivors reportedly heard two explosions shortly before the fire started, while one survivor said a small amount of smoke rapidly developed into flames that spread across the ferry within seconds. Firefighters were unable to board the vessel until Friday, after the blaze had been extinguished more than a day after it began. They found burnt remains in the economy accommodation section, where intense heat had twisted steel bed frames and covered the interior in ash. Some images appeared to show skeletal remains among the debris. Rescuers recovered 41 additional bodies on Saturday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 76. The remains of 30 victims recovered earlier were transported to Coron, where forensic teams established temporary facilities to identify them. Families gathered at the port as responders in protective suits carried body bags from a Coast Guard vessel. Anelyn Magbanua, whose husband was travelling back to Coron after visiting their children in Manila, expressed hope that he had survived and might have reached another island. Philippine Coast Guard officials said their immediate priorities were identifying the victims and determining the cause of the fire. Questions also remained about the ferry’s captain, who was reportedly alive but was not among the 43 confirmed survivors. The disaster is the latest in a series of deadly maritime accidents in the Philippines, where millions depend on ferries and small boats to travel among the country’s more than 7,600 islands.