2 Filipino sailors dead in rescue of seized ship

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Two Filipinos were killed during a rescue mission by the Iranian Navy to save the crewmembers of a hijacked ship, the Eglantine, off the Indian coast last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said two Filipino crewmembers were killed during the operation, but eight other Filipino sailors were rescued.

“One Filipino sailor died of a gunshot wound in the head, while another died of suffocation at the engine room where he sought refuge during the operation,” Hernandez said, quoting from a report of the Philipppine Embassy in Tehran.

The names of the fatalities were withheld.

The Eglantine, a Cyprus-flagged and Iranian-owned bulk carrier was hijacked last March 26 by Somali pirates off the southwestern coast of India. It had 23 crewmembers of mixed nationalities, 10 of whom were Filipino.

According to the rescued Filipinos, the pirates knew about the Iranian Navy’s plan to stage the rescue. The pirates bound the crewmen and used them as human shields during the firefight with the Navy commandos, Hernandez said.

The April 2 rescue operation led to the capture of 12 pirates who had boarded the vessel.

The families of the crewmen have already been informed of the incident, the DFA said.