Updated Sep 12, 2026 – 12.59am, first published at 12.55amKey Posts15 mins ago — 12.51AMGerman police charge seven Hamas members over planned terror attack17 mins ago — 12.48AMIsrael says it has killed Hamas commander18 mins ago — 12.48AMWelcome7 mins ago – 12.59AMDeath toll in Philippine ferry fire rises to 35 as more bodies are recoveredAPThe fire that gutted a passenger ferry in the Philippines, killing at least 35 people, spread so fast that one man didn’t have time to get a life jacket as others stepped on him in panic.Fifty-four people are still missing since the fire tore through the ferry Wednesday night near southwestern Palawan province. There were 43 survivors. Images provided by the coast guard showed the charred interior of the ship and what appeared to be human remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.The smouldering remains of the ferry MV June Aster that caught fire off Palawan province, western Philippines. PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD via AP“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva recounted in a video broadcast by News5. He said that he jumped from a window. “I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic.”Rescuers on Thursday struggled to get inside the vessel because of the heat and smoke, slowing efforts to search for passengers who may been trapped. On Friday, the death rose to 35 as more bodies were recovered.The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, and was around 7.4 km off the village of Turda near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the fire was reported. The cause of the fire has not been determined.TFetching latest articles