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Basilan ferry fire: Body of last missing passenger found, death toll at 33

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A handout photo made available by the Hadji Muhtamad Municipality (HMM) Public Information Office shows the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel sitting on the shore of Basilan. Couretsy of Hadji Muhtamad Municipality/EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/03/30/20230330-basilan-boat-mishap-epa11389426-s.jpg"/><figcaption>A handout photo made available by the Hadji Muhtamad Municipality (HMM) Public Information Office shows the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel sitting on the shore of Basilan. Couretsy of Hadji Muhtamad Municipality/EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The death toll from a fire that engulfed a ferry off Basilan in late March has climbed to 33, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Thursday.The PCG said the body of the last missing passenger of the ill-fated MV Mary Joy 3, Private First Class Marion Manda, was recovered on April 11. The ferry was traveling to Sulu from Zamboanga when it caught fire off Baluk-Baluk island, Basilan in the late hours of March 29. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/video/03/30/23/pampasaherong-barko-nasunog-sa-karagatan-sa-basilan">Pampasaherong barko, nasunog sa karagatan sa Basilan</a></li></ul>Out of its 249 passengers, 216 survived, the PCG said. Faulty electrical wiring was seen as a possible cause of the fire, based on initial investigation from the Coast Guard&#x27;s Maritime Casualty Investigation Team (MCIT) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/04/23/faulty-wiring-seen-as-cause-of-basilan-ferry-fire-pcg">Faulty wiring seen as cause of Basilan ferry fire, says PCG</a></li></ul>Aleson Shipping Lines, the owner of the vessel, has <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/01/23/owner-of-ferry-that-caught-fire-killing-28-apologizes" target="_blank">apologized</a> for the disaster and expressed its condolences to families of the victims.

The death toll from a fire that engulfed a ferry off Basilan in late March has climbed to 33, the PCG said. 