At least 35 people died after a fast-spreading fire destroyed a passenger ferry in the Philippines, with a survivor describing how panicked crowds trampled him as he attempted to secure a life jacket.
At least 54 people were still unaccounted for following the inferno that swept through the vessel on Wednesday night off southwestern Palawan province. There were 43 survivors. Coastguard images captured the ship’s blackened interior, revealing ashes, warped metal, a destroyed car, and suspected human remains.
“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva recounted in a video broadcast by News5. He said that he jumped from a window. “I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic.”
Intense heat and heavy smoke severely hindered rescue workers on Thursday, delaying search efforts for any trapped passengers inside the vessel.
By Friday, the death toll reached 35 following the recovery of additional bodies.
The vessel had departed from the capital, Manila, and was roughly 7.4km off Turda village, near its destination of Coron in Palawan province, when the blaze was reported. The cause of the outbreak remains unknown.
“It’s painful to think that your child was asking for help while she was burning alive,” Lira Daco said as she waited at a rescue centre in Turda for word about her missing 20-year-old daughter Cyriel.
“I don’t know how we can find out which one is my child,” she added regarding the remains found inside the ship. “It’s ok if she just drowned and we can recover her body and give her a proper burial. But now we can’t recognize or hug her.”
Ship records indicated that 134 people were aboard—117 passengers and 17 crew—on the 53m vessel, which had a total carrying capacity of 306 passengers and 27 crew.
Two individuals listed on the manifest later informed authorities that they had failed to board, the coastguard reported.
Among those saved were two Chilean tourists, confirmed Rachel Conserman, a staff member at vessel owner Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc.
Both are currently receiving hospital treatment in Coron for their injuries.
Coron is a popular tourist destination, renowned for its clear blue waters, dramatic limestone cliffs and rock formations.
Ferries serve as a widespread means of transport across the Philippine archipelago. Maritime accidents are not uncommon due to severe storms, poorly maintained craft, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations, particularly in remote island provinces.
The region previously suffered the history’s worst peacetime sea disaster in 1987, when the ferry Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker in the central Philippines, claiming over 4,300 lives.