Firefighters board burned Philippine ferry as 84 remain missing

Philippine firefighters have boarded a burned-out ferry after a blaze killed five people and left more than 80 missing during a voyage from Manila to the western province of Palawan.

Crews gained access to the vessel on Friday, over a day after the fire broke out on Wednesday night, due to delays caused by thick smoke and extreme heat.

The Philippine Coast Guard revised the number of missing from 86 to 84 after verifying that two people listed on the manifest had not been on board. A total of 43 people have been rescued.

The manifest listed 117 passengers and 17 crew members aboard the ferry.

Aerial footage showed a Coast Guard helicopter hovering above the burned ferry, whose upper decks were blackened by fire. While light smoke continued to rise from parts of the vessel, it was noticeably thinner than the thick plumes seen a day earlier. Two firefighters could be seen on an upper deck.

Richard Marceliano, one of the survivors, told GMA News he saw a small amount of smoke that quickly turned into a raging fire and spread through the ferry within seconds. He said he and other passengers spent nearly two hours floating in the sea before they were rescued.

Meanwhile, relatives of missing passengers gathered outside the Manila office of shipowner Atienza Inter-Island Ferries, seeking information after their calls to the company went unanswered.

Evelyn Umpad, 64, said she was waiting for news of her son and daughter-in-law, who had been travelling to Taytay in Palawan to buy land.

"We kept calling but nobody was answering. They took my number and said they would call back, but no one contacted us, so we came here ourselves to find out the situation," she said.

"My appeal is for them to take action and keep us updated."

The ferry company has said it is fully cooperating with government authorities investigating the incident.

Cause remains unclear

The Coast Guard has deployed five vessels and divers to the area, with army rescue boats, fishermen and private resort owners also helping in the search, which began on Wednesday night. Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said a larger vessel would also be deployed.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear. The ferry was nearing the end of its more than 20-hour voyage to Coron, a popular tourist destination in northern Palawan, when the fire broke out.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), citing survivors’ accounts, said two successive explosions were heard inside the vessel before the fire erupted.

The ferry had a capacity of 330 people and was also transporting cargo, including five motorcycles, an electric vehicle, a forklift and a pickup truck, according to the Coast Guard.

Ferries are a vital means of transport in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, where millions rely on boats to travel between provinces.

The country has a poor maritime safety record, with previous ferry disasters linked to overcrowding, rough weather and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

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Source: TRT