Death toll in Philippine ferry fire rises to 35 as more bodies are
recovered
[September 12, 2026]
By AARON FAVILA, JOEAL CALUPITAN and TERESA CEROJANO
CORON, Philippines (AP) — The fire that gutted a passenger ferry in the
Philippines, killing at least 35 people, spread so fast that one man
didn't have time to get a life jacket as others stepped on him in panic.
Fifty-four people are still missing since the fire tore through the
ferry Wednesday night near southwestern Palawan province. There were 43
survivors. Images provided by the coast guard showed the charred
interior of the ship and what appeared to be human remains, ashes and
burnt metal, including a car.
“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.”
Rescuers on Thursday struggled to get inside the vessel because of the
heat and smoke, slowing efforts to search for passengers who may have
been trapped. On Friday, the death toll rose to 35 as more bodies were
recovered.
The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, and was around 7.4 kilometers
(4.5 miles) off the village of Turda near its destination of Coron in
Palawan province when the fire was reported. The cause of the fire has
not been determined.
“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 center 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 of
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.”
According to the manifest, 134 people were onboard, 117 of them
passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity to
carry 306 passengers and 27 crew. Two passengers listed in the manifest
reported to authorities that they failed to board, the coast guard said.
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In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June
Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday,
Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard
via AP)
Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel
Conserman, a staffer of the ship’s owner Atienza Interisland Ferries
Inc. They are recovering from injuries in a hospital in Coron, she
said, adding that no other foreigners were known to have been on the
ship.
Coron is a popular tourist destination known for clear blue waters,
limestone cliffs and rock formations.
Ferries are frequently used for transport in the Philippine
archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon due to storms, badly
maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety
regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker
in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the
world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
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Cerojano reported from Manila, Philippines.
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