MANILA, Philippines – Sinabi ni Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Bernard Olalia nitong Sabado, Hulyo 11 na biniberipika na nila ang mga report na mayroong tatlo sa 21 Filipino crew members na sakay ng MV Eternity C ang napatay ng mga rebeldeng Houthi habang naglalayag sa Red Sea malapit sa Yemen.
Sa news forum, sinabi ni Olalia na ang mga report na ang tatlo sa 13 nawawalang Filipino seafarers ay patay na, ay hindi pa kumpirmado.
“We strongly believe that they are still alive because their companions who survived there for more than 48 hours, floating, were rescued, and hopefully, we can also save most of those who are missing,” ani Olalia.
Ayon pa sa opisyal, iinterviewhin din nila ang nasagip na walong seafarer upang matukoy kung ilang ang eksaktong bilang ng mga nasawi sa pag-atake ng Houthi.
“Because they will say that someone died on the ship during the missile attack, and maybe there are missing people whose whereabouts are not yet known, so we can know the total number of casualties,” paliwanag ni Olalia.
Idinagdag pa na ang DMW ay nakikipag-ugnayan na sa Department of Foreign Affairs at Department of National Defense para sa nagpapatuloy na search and rescue operations sa 13 hindi pa mahanap na crew member na sakay ng lumubog na MV Eternity C.
“They are already speaking with their foreign counterparts there so that the search efforts can be sustained and we can find our additional missing seafarers,” sinabi ng DMW undersecretary.
“One of our challenges is that we know that the Houthis have taken some. The problem is, we don’t know the exact number they have captured so we can’t say how many more we should look for,” ipinunto ni Olalia. RNT/JGC
