NewzCORON, Philippines (AP) — Firefighters found burnt human remains on Friday inside a ferry that caught fire in Philippine waters two nights earlier, leaving five dead and 84 missing, the coast guard said.It was not clear how many additional fatalities were found, with officials saying more details will be released on Saturday.Images provided by the coast guard showed the gutted interior of the ship and what appeared to be charred remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.A coast guard statement said the fire was declared out, and the response team conducted a safety assessment. Rescuers on Thursday struggled to get inside the burning vessel because of the heat and smoke, and efforts to search for passengers who may been trapped were halted overnight.Commodore Noemie Cayabyab, the coast guard spokesperson, said the coast guard, police and other agencies were “undertaking the proper recovery and identification of the remains in accordance with established procedures.”The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, on Wednesday evening 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.The coast guard and other vessels have rescued 43 people, some plucked from the dark waters as the ferry burned.“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.”Survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva recounted the harrowing night of the fire in a video broadcast by News5.“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” he said, adding 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.”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, bringi… Philippine rescuers recovered 30 bodies from a burned-out ferry on Friday, raising the death toll from the blaze to 35, authorities said.
Firefighters found the remains after they gained access to the vessel for the first time, having extinguished a fire that had hampered search and rescue efforts since Wednesday night. Responders in protective suits were seen carrying black body bags from a small boat onto a coastguard vessel, video footage released by the coastguard showed.
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