Tragic scenes of death in burned Philippine ferry move rescuers to tears

A Philippine coastguard commander said on Friday that the tragic scenes of death his team saw aboard a gutted ferry, including adults clutching children, had moved them to tears and sparked fears other passengers could be found dead in the still-smouldering ship.

At least 29 of more than 250 people on board the M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 were killed in the blaze that raged through the ferry Wednesday night while it was on an overnight trip from the southern port city of Zamboanga to Jolo town in Sulu province. At least seven passengers, including two army soldiers, remained missing in the country’s deadliest sea disaster this year, the coastguard said.

Basilan Governor Jim Hataman initially reported 31 deaths Thursday but later reduced the toll to 29 after search and rescue groups crossed-checked their figures.

All 35 crew members survived, including the captain, who issued an abandon-ship order when the fire hit close to midnight, then ran the ferry aground on an island off Basilan province to give remaining passengers a better chance to survive, coastguard officials said.

Many passengers jumped into the sea in panic without life jackets and were saved by rescuers but at least 11 drowned. When a team of coastguard personnel, including Bureau of Fire officers, boarded the burned ferry on Baluk-baluk island’s coast, they discovered the bodies of 18 passengers scattered on the uppermost open-air economy deck and another floor below, coastguard Commander Chadley Salahuddin said.

The passengers, including an adult clutching a child by the railing, could have easily jumped into the sea and survived like many others but failed to do so for unclear reasons. Two passengers, apparently siblings who were among the missing, were found holding each other in a bathroom, he said.