Multiple Ferry Disasters Kill Dozens Across the Western Pacific

Overview

• A fire aboard the M/V June Aster near Coron, Palawan, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, has been blamed for a rapid blaze that the Philippine Coast Guard says began in the cargo hold and spread in seconds; authorities now count 76 confirmed dead and about a dozen still unaccounted for.
• Thirty to forty-three survivors were pulled from the June Aster and recovered bodies have been moved to Coron port where provincial forensic teams are beginning DNA sampling to identify victims.
• Philippine authorities have opened maritime and criminal investigations into the June Aster, are seeking the vessel’s captain, and will examine the passenger manifest, crew actions and safety procedures.
• Separately, Indonesia’s Virgo Transport 8 sank in the Java Sea after losing contact; rescue teams have found about 102 survivors and recovered at least one body from the vessel that carried 243 people, with more than 140 still unlocated.
• In Vanuatu the MV Matui sank in a storm between Ambae and Santo, leaving at least one dead, about 15 rescued and more than 30 missing, and prompting a formal probe and a shift in search efforts toward coastal areas where currents may have carried survivors.