The death toll from a passenger ship fire off the Philippine island of Palawan has risen to 76. With the fate of 13 people still unconfirmed, authorities are tracking the whereabouts of the captain after information came in that the captain, who is not on the list of rescued, is alive.
According to Reuters and EFE on the 13th local time, the Philippine Coast Guard said 76 people died in the passenger ship fire that broke out on the night of the 9th off Coron in northern Palawan.
As of on the 11th, 35 deaths had been confirmed, but the death toll rose sharply as the coast guard recovered 41 more bodies from inside the vessel.
So far, 43 people have been rescued and 13 are presumed missing.
The manifest listed 134 people, including 117 passengers and 17 crew members. However, two of them were confirmed not to have actually boarded.
Authorities are not ruling out the possibility that passengers not on the list also boarded. They also obtained information that the captain, who is not among the 43 survivors, is alive and are working to confirm the whereabouts.
Noemi Cayabyab, Spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, said, "We are looking for the captain, who may have survived," and noted, "We are also considering ways to determine the captain's responsibility for the accident and to investigate allegations of negligence by the crew."
The foreigners on the manifest are two Chileans, both of whom were rescued and taken to a hospital.
The passenger ship caught fire while en route to Coron after departing Baseco in the Manila port area. Survivors said they heard two explosions on board just before the fire occurred.
The Maritime Industry Authority of the Philippines is investigating the exact cause of the accident based on survivors' accounts. A forensic team is identifying the bodies that were moved to Coron Port Village.