Philippines ferry fire toll rises to 35 as 54 remain missing off Palawan

The death toll from a fire on a passenger ferry in the Philippines has risen to 35 after more bodies were recovered from the burned vessel, while 54 people remain missing. There were 43 survivors from the fire, which broke out on Wednesday night as the ferry was nearing its destination.

Rescuers were delayed in getting into the vessel because of heat and smoke, slowing the search for passengers who may have been trapped inside. Images released by the coast guard showed the gutted interior of the ship, along with what appeared to be charred remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.

According to authorities, the ferry had sailed from Manila and was about 7.4 kilometres off the village of Turda near 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 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 said 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 recognise or hug her."

Survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva described the 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."

The manifest showed 134 people on board, including 117 passengers and 17 crew members. The 53-metre vessel had the capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew. The coast guard said two passengers listed on the manifest later told authorities that they had failed to board. Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staff member of the ship's owner, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. She said they were recovering from injuries in a hospital in Coron and that no other foreigners were known to have been on the ship.

The shipping company said it was helping those who were on board and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to find the missing passengers 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 transport in the Philippine archipelago, where sea accidents are not uncommon because of storms, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding and weak 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.

The fire on the ferry has left at least 35 people dead, 43 alive and 54 still missing, with the search continuing as authorities try to identify victims, support families and establish how the blaze began.