More than 40 hours after fire tore through the passenger-cargo vessel MV June Aster, Philippine rescuers have managed to board the ship’s charred hull, as the search continues for dozens of people still unaccounted for following one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters in recent years.
A Difficult Search
The blaze broke out on Wednesday evening as the ferry approached Coron, a popular tourist destination in Palawan province, having set out from Manila. As of Friday, five people had been confirmed dead and 43 rescued, many now receiving hospital treatment, while 84 remained missing — a figure revised down slightly after authorities discovered two people listed on the manifest never actually boarded the vessel.
Coast guard crews were unable to get aboard the wreck for nearly two days because of intense heat and thick, toxic smoke. Coast guard spokeswoman Noemie Cayabyab said the fumes and temperatures posed a severe risk to personnel, no matter how hard they tried to push through. Smoke from incomplete combustion carries dangerous concentrations of carbon monoxide, compounding the danger for anyone attempting to enter the hull.
Crews finally managed to board the ship at around 11:30am local time on Friday. Photos released by the Philippine Coast Guard that morning still showed smoke curling from the wreck, though images taken later in the day suggested the plumes had begun to die down.
Widening the Search
Authorities have expanded their search area, deploying one of the coast guard’s largest vessels alongside divers and nurses, and have broadcast radio alerts to other ships in the vicinity. An aerial survey of the surrounding waters was also carried out. Local divers in Coron told the BBC they remained on standby awaiting instructions from the coast guard.
Officials now plan to resume firefighting operations starting with the ship’s cargo hold, which preliminary interviews with survivors suggest is where the fire first broke out. Investigators also noted that some passengers were not wearing life vests when the fire started.
A Survivor’s Account
Among those rescued was 30-year-old Roland Lerma, who described the chaos as passengers scrambled to escape the burning vessel. He recalled being knocked to the floor and trampled by fleeing passengers before crawling to safety and eventually leaping into the sea. In the darkness, he said he could make out children who had also jumped overboard, though he could not see their faces clearly. Lerma said the water was freezing, and that he would not have survived had rescuers arrived any later.
Questions Over Safety
The Philippines’ maritime authority has launched an investigation into the disaster. According to reporting from the Palawan Daily, the ferry — built in 2002 — held valid safety certificates and had passed an enforcement inspection as recently as March. Investigators are nonetheless examining possible discrepancies in the passenger manifest, the integrity of how cargo was loaded, and how the crew responded to the emergency.
The vessel’s operator, Atienza Interisland Ferries, has said it will fully cooperate with the inquiry, adding that its “hearts remain with the affected families” and that it would not rest until everyone was accounted for.
