Philippine Coast Guard brings 30 burned bodies into Coron

On Saturday morning the Philippine Coast Guard landed 30 body bags at a port near Coron, the Palawan resort town that was the last stop on the MV June Aster's timetable. Tents went up for forensic teams. Relatives waited behind the cordon. Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the remains would go to police identifiers before families are told names.

The count of confirmed dead is now 35. Five people were known to have died in the first hours after the fire on Wednesday evening. Firefighters could not board the wreck until Friday because of heat and toxic fumes. Once inside they found most of the 30 additional bodies in the sleeping area. Coast Guard photographs showed accommodation berths reduced to twisted metal and ash, and a burned vehicle in the cargo space.

The ferry had left Manila on a voyage of more than 20 hours. The manifest listed 134 people, 117 passengers and 17 crew. Two listed passengers later said they never boarded. Forty-three people were rescued. Fifty-four remain missing. Cayabyab warned that the death toll will rise. The 53-metre ship was certified for 306 passengers and 27 crew. It was also carrying cargo, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck and motorcycles.

The Maritime Industry Authority, citing survivor accounts, said two explosions were heard on board before the fire. The blaze began in the cargo hold and moved through the vessel in seconds, according to officials who briefed reporters this week. The cause is not established. Atienza Interisland Ferries, the operator, said it would cooperate with the inquiry and that it would not rest until every person is accounted for.

Anelyn Magbanua, 37, stood near the port on Saturday. Her husband had been travelling back to Coron after seeing their children in Manila. She told Reuters she hoped he had drifted to another island rather than lying in one of the bags coming off the Coast Guard boat.

Inter-island ferries are how most of the Philippines moves. The country has 116 million people scattered across thousands of islands. Fires, overloading and weather have killed passengers on this network for decades. Coron is a tourist draw because of limestone cliffs, wreck diving and the Calamian islands. The June Aster was a workhorse on the Manila route, not a cruise ship. Many of those still missing were going home, not going on holiday.

Identification will be slow. Heat and time destroy the usual markers. Families in Manila and Palawan are being asked for dental records and DNA. Local authorities have to hold remains long enough for that work and short enough that burial rites can start. The Coast Guard's job on Saturday was the transfer. The harder job sits with the forensic tents and with the investigators who have to decide whether the explosions came from cargo, from a vehicle battery, or from something else in the hold.

Search teams are still looking in the water around the grounded wreck. Fifty-four names on a list that has not been closed will keep those boats out. Until that list shortens, the June Aster remains an open case rather than a finished disaster.