CORON: Philippine disaster agency workers carried coffins to a cemetery in the resort town of Coron on Saturday, intended for the temporary burial of victims of a ferry fire that has killed dozens of people.
The bodies arrived by sea to begin the painstaking process of identification by forensic specialists, days after a fire tore through the M/V June Aster "in seconds", according to the coast guard.
The confirmed death toll is 76 people, counting 30 bodies included in the initial transfer from the wrecked ferry and five others recovered earlier, but officials have said more bodies remain aboard the vessel.
A local official said that teams in Coron, Palawan had dug 70 graves on the instruction of disaster officials. The one-metre deep graves are intended to hold the victims' remains until DNA testing is completed, Kristine Ablana, a tourism official serving as an official spokesperson, told reporters on Saturday.
Relatives will first be brought into a room to identify personal items that may have belonged to family members.
"Once someone is able to verify... that this photo or these belongings are indeed those of their relative, they will be asked to provide a DNA sample," Ablana said.
Authorities have not said exactly how many bodies remain aboard the stricken vessel, which sits grounded about 7.5 kilometres off the coast.
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