This screen grab aerial picture from a handout video taken and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on September 10, 2026 shows the ruins of a ferry that caught fire off Palawan. Handout/Philippine Coast Guard
MANILA — The remains of 50 more victims of the MV June Aster ferry fire in Coron, Palawan have been identified through DNA analysis, according to the Philippine National Police Forensic Group.
Of the 77 fatalities in the MV June Aster fire, 71 cadavers are undergoing the final stages of identification, according to PNP-FG director Police Brig.Gen. Pierre Paul Carpio.
The process is now in Phase 4, which involves reconciliation and cross-matching of the remains.
“Currently, we have identified and cross-matched 50 of those cadavers. So we have remaining 21 cadavers for cross-matching,” Carpio said.
Lithium batteries eyed in MV June Aster fire that killed 77
He added that the identified victims include both males and females, with at least one child among the remains examined so far.
The forensic team already has the necessary antemortem samples from the families of the remaining victims to proceed with the DNA cross-matching.
He said the process takes time because "after every case, we clean all the laboratory for decontamination and sterility of the laboratory."
Once the identities are confirmed through the PNP's Disaster Victim Identification process, the results are endorsed to the local government unit, which then coordinates with the victims' relatives for the release of the remains.
The MV June Aster caught fire off the waters of Coron, Palawan on September 9.
The blaze killed 77 people, according to authorities.
Authorities earlier said lithium batteries were among the possible sources being looked into in determining what caused the fire.