Philippines ferry fire death toll rises to 35, 54 still missing

The death toll from a fire on a passenger ferry in the Philippines rose to 35 on Friday after more bodies were recovered from the burned vessel. Another 54 people remain missing.

There were 43 survivors from the fire that broke out on Wednesday night, authorities said.

Images released by the coast guard showed the gutted interior of the vessel, with what appeared to be charred remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.

Rescuers struggled to enter the vessel on Thursday because of intense heat and smoke, slowing the search for passengers who may have been trapped inside.

The ferry had sailed from Manila and was about 7.4 kilometres from the village of Turda, near its destination of Coron in Palawan province, when the fire was reported. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

Lira Daco, who was waiting at a rescue centre in Turda for information about her missing 20-year-old daughter Cyriel, described the situation as devastating.

"It's painful to think that your child was asking for help while she was burning alive," Daco said.

She said the condition of the recovered remains had made identification difficult for families.

Survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva described the incident in a video broadcast by News5. He said the fire spread rapidly and that he was forced to jump from a window after his back was burned.

"I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic," he said.

According to the passenger manifest, 134 people were on board, including 117 passengers and 17 crew members. The 53-metre vessel had a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew members.

The coast guard said two passengers listed on the manifest later informed authorities that they had not boarded the vessel.

Two survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, an employee of the ship's owner, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. They were recovering from injuries at a hospital in Coron. No other foreign nationals were known to have been on board, she said.

The shipping company said it was assisting passengers and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime authorities to locate those still missing and determine the cause of the fire.

Coron is a popular tourist destination known for its clear blue waters, limestone cliffs and rock formations.

Ferries are widely used for transportation across the Philippine archipelago. Maritime accidents are not uncommon in the country and have been linked to factors including storms, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations, particularly 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 what is considered the world's deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.  (with inputs from Associated Press)