On Saturday, police in the Philippines said that they had filed murder complaints against the owner, captain, and crew of a ferry that capsized off Ormoc City this week, the Associated Press reports. The local prosecutor will review the complaints and decide whether to file charges.

According to regional coast guard commander Captain Pedro Tinampay, at least 59 people died and 145 people survived the accident on Thursday. It is still not clear how many people were aboard the ferry when it flipped.

Among the survivors is retired American firefighter Lawrence Drake, who questioned the validity of the complaints against boat captain Warren Oliverio and his crew. From the AP:

“It’s wrong. It’s wrong. I feel bad,” he said by phone from Ormoc.

Drake said Oliverio stripped down to his underpants, jumped into the water to grab people drifting away, and then put them on one of the outriggers to cling to while waiting for rescue boats.

Drake also disputed accounts that the captain abruptly turned the boat, causing it to capsize.

“That is 100 percent incorrect. I was 10 feet from the captain,” he said, recounting that he was in the front seat of the boat at the time.

Police say the boat was overloaded with cargo—an abrupt turn caused its weight to shift, thus capisizing the boat. Police official Asher Dolina told Agence France-Presse, “They were not careful, showing there was an intent to kill. They were reckless on purpose.”

Photo credit: AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.