Authorities: Identifying Victims of Philippine Ferry Fire Could Take Months

Authorities: Identifying Victims of Philippine Ferry Fire Could Take Months

Authorities in the Philippines said on Sunday that it could take weeks or even months to identify the victims of a ferry fire that killed 76 people, as forensic experts began collecting and comparing burned DNA samples while investigators worked to determine the cause of the disaster, the country’s deadliest maritime accident in recent years.

Richard Allan Mangalip, a forensic expert from the Philippine National Police, said that some bodies were found together inside the vessel, while others were scattered throughout the ferry, which was carrying more than 130 passengers and was nearing its destination when the fire broke out.

The ferry was traveling to the city of Coron in Palawan province from Manila, a journey that normally takes about 20 hours.

The assessment came one day after rescuers recovered an additional 41 bodies from the ferry, bringing the death toll to 76. Thirteen people remain missing.

The fire is the latest deadly maritime accident in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, where millions of people rely on ferries and small boats to travel between islands.