THE remains of the two Filipino seafarers who were killed in the recent missile attack launched by Houthi rebels in Gulf of Aden are still in the cargo vessel, Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said on Friday, March 8, 2024.
In a radio interview, Cacdac said the remains of the Filipinos seafarers were yet to be evacuated since the cargo ship True Confidence was caught on fire following the missile attack.
(The remains of the two dead crew members were on the ship because the missile hit the fuel section of the ship and there was a big fire in the part where the two crew members were... There was an emergency evacuation because the fire was big there, so they were not retrieved during the emergency evacuation.)
“Pero ngayon inaasahan natin na may tinatawag na salvaging operations at makakasama dito sa salvaging operations ‘yung paghahanap sa labi. Inaasahan natin na sunog ‘yung barko so iuungkat ‘yung labi ng dalawang tripulante natin,” he added.
(But now we expect that there will be salvaging operations and that the search for remains will be part of it. We expect the ship to be destroyed by fire, so the remains of our two crew members will be dug up.)
In a separate statement, Cacdac said the three Filipino seafarers, not two as earlier reported, who were wounded in the attack are now in stable condition. They are receiving medical care at a hospital in Djibouti City.
He said all the other 10 Filipino crew members aboard the shipping vessel are safe and accounted for.
Cacdac said they are currently in a hotel in Djibouti.
The agency is working on their repatriation.
“We are in coordination with the DFA, through its embassies and missions, as well as our Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) in the region, to ascertain the crew members’ physical and medical conditions and to provide any immediate assistance required,” Cacdac said.
Houthi rebels based in Yemen launched a missile attack on the crew’s cargo vessel around 5:30 p.m. of March 6 2024. The vessel was about 50 nautical miles away from Aden, the capital of Yemen.
An Indian Navy vessel, part of the international task force patrolling the volatile Red Sea-Gulf of Aden sea lanes, rescued the crew and brought the victims to Djibouti. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)