THE number of fatalities due to the fire that engulfed a passenger vessel in waters off Coron, Palawan, has increased to 76, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
In a press conference on Saturday, September 12, 2026, PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the charred bodies were recovered inside MV June Aster, particularly in the economy section, amid the ongoing search and recovery operations.
“Based on the statement of other survivors, may nakababa, natrapal, at ang intensyon daw po ng trapal ay dahil that time maulan, so para hindi po pumasok ang ulan,” she said.
“So we will still be checking kung ito po ba ay isa sa mga factor kung bakit ganyan po kadami ang mga remains na nadiscover natin kahapon,” she added.
She said the remains will be transported to a port in Coron, Palawan, where the bodies will undergo DNA testing for identification and marking.
In a statement on Sunday, September 13, 2026, the PCG said the vessel was carrying a total of 134 individuals, with 13 still unaccounted for, while two reported that they did not board the vessel.
The number of survivors remains at 43, including 13 crew members and two Chilean nationals.
Cayabyab said the captain of the vessel is alive, based on the information relayed by the shipping company, but he is yet to be located, prompting authorities to conduct a deeper investigation.
She said, based on the accounts of the survivors, a loud explosion was heard from the cargo hold before the ship was engulfed by fire.
The incident happened on September 9 at 6:45 p.m. when the vessel was on its way to Coron, Palawan, from Manila.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were also tapped to conduct the investigation, as well as the search and retrieval of the remaining victims.