60 June Aster fire victims identified, 11 remain
FIREFIGHTERS check on the damage incurred by sea vessel MV June Aster after it caught fire off the waters of Coron, Palawan on Wednesday evening. Authorities declared the vessel fire out on Friday morning.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF PCG
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Tuesday, 13 October, that authorities have identified 60 victims of the MV June Aster fire in Coron, Palawan, although none of their remains have been formally claimed by their families.
PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the Philippine National Police Forensic Group had established the identities of 60 victims, while efforts continued to identify 11 others whose remains were severely burned.
“The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Coron, Palawan, has coordinated with 60 families regarding the identification and claiming process. Two claimants have personally visited the EOC to process the necessary requirements, although no remains have been formally claimed,” Cayabyab said.
The Coron municipal government has established a one-stop assistance desk at its Emergency Operations Center to help families process the documents required to claim the remains.
The assistance desk operates Mondays through Thursdays, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The 9 September ferry fire claimed 77 lives, making it one of the country's deadliest maritime disasters in recent years.
Of the fatalities, 71 were initially difficult to identify because their remains were severely burned.
Authorities are also investigating the cause of the fire, including the possible involvement of an electric vehicle reportedly stored in the vessel's cargo hold.
A survivor earlier claimed the blaze began in the cargo area, where an electric vehicle, a pickup truck, a forklift and five motorcycles were reportedly located.
Investigators have yet to establish the fire's cause.
The victims' remains were temporarily buried at San Nicolas Public Cemetery in Coron while identification and coordination with their families continued.