Philippine Ferry Fire Kills 35; 54 Still Missing

"The fire quickly spread. That's when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned," survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva said in a video broadcast by News5, describing how 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."

"It's painful to think that your child was asking for help while she was burning alive," said Lira Daco, who waited at a rescue center in Turda for word about her missing 20-year-old daughter, Cyriel. "I don't know how we can find out which one is my child," she said of the remains found inside the ship. "It's ok if she just drowned and we can recover her body and give her a proper burial. But now we can't recognize or hug her."

Cayabyab said survivors described an event that happened so fast there was no time to get life jackets. A tarpaulin that shielded the ship's open areas from the rain "may be a possible contributing factor but we can't determine now if they were trapped inside," she said.

Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc., the ship's owner, said in a statement it was assisting those who were on board and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to locate the missing and determine the cause of the fire.