The number of deceased from the fire registered on Wednesday on a boat near the municipality of Coron, in the Calamian Islands archipelago, in the west of the Philippines, has risen to 76 after the location of another 41 bodies, according to local authorities.
The new mortal remains recovered in the last hours from the fire of the "MV June Aster" have been taken to the port of Coron, as detailed by a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, Noemie Cayabyab, cited by the Philippine television network ABS-CBN.
On the vessel were 134 people —117 passengers and 17 crew members— and it was heading to Coron, in the province of Palawan, one of the main tourist destinations in the country, when the fire broke out, the cause of which is still undetermined. So far, 43 people have been rescued, including two Chilean citizens.
The Coast Guard and the National Police continue with the identification tasks of the corpses, while maritime authorities keep the investigation into the origin of the ship's disaster, owned by Atienza Inter-Island Ferries, open.
The incident occurred in nearby waters, about 1.2 nautical miles (around 2.2 kilometers) northeast of the Marcilla neighborhood, at the southeastern tip of Busuanga Island.