63 of 77 MV June Aster fire victims identified; probe ongoing

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities have identified 63 of the 77 people killed in the MV June Aster ferry fire off Palawan in September, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has reported.

The BFP also said Friday eight people remain missing as investigators continue to determine possible lapses that allowed the vessel to sail despite engine problems and the improper storage of flammable and hazardous cargo.

BFP officer-in-charge Fire Chief Superintendent Wilberto Rico Neil Ang Kwan Tiu disclosed the findings during a Palace briefing, where the agency presented an artificial intelligence-generated narration of the events leading to the fire based on survivors’ accounts.

“We are looking into where the lapse occurred — identifying what specific lapses took place — and why, despite the problems encountered by the vessels, they were permitted to sail to Coron,” Kwan Tiu said.

According to the BFP’s reconstruction of events, the fire broke out around 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 as the vessel was passing through the Strait of Coron off Palawan.

The ferry was originally scheduled to depart on Sept. 3, but its voyage was postponed.

Vessel operator Atienza Inter-Island Ferries Inc. attributed the delay to bad weather and low tide conditions.

However, investigators found that the vessel had been experiencing engine problems. During the four-day delay, additional cargo was loaded onto the ferry, including drums of cooking oil, blocks of asphalt and a large quantity of calcium hypochlorite.

The BFP said the calcium hypochlorite, a highly reactive oxidizing agent with corrosive properties, was stored at the rear of the cargo deck, directly in front of the engine room and beside blocks of combustible asphalt.

Kwan Tiu said rough seas caused some of the cargo to topple, resulting in the mixing of calcium hypochlorite and asphalt.

“While the vessel experienced rough seas condition, the cargo fell, and that comes the mixture of calcium hypochlorite and the asphalt,” he said.

He said the mixture triggered the fire and produced highly toxic smoke.

“That’s where it started; and as we know, the product of combustion, specifically the smoke emitted during the process, is highly toxic,” Kwan Tiu said.

The BFP official said some passengers may have suffocated from the toxic smoke before they could feel the heat or realize that a fire had broken out.

“It’s possible that before they could even feel the heat, they had been suffocated. Given that it was 6:30 p.m., it was already dark, and they were likely in their bunks, which explains the high number of casualties — 77,” he said.

The investigation remains ongoing to establish the lapses that allowed the ferry to proceed with its voyage despite the reported problems. /dm