Remains of 2 Filipino seafarers still in cargo vessel — Cacdac

RED SEA TARGET An aerial view of the Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze following a Houthi missile attack in the Red Sea on March 6. The commercial vessel had 15 Filipinos among its crewmen. —REUTERS

MANILA, Philippines — The remains of the two Filipino seafarers who died from the missile strike in the Gulf of Aden were left in the ill-fated carrier vessel True Confidence, Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said on Friday.

Cacdac, in a radio interview, said True Confidence caught fire after the deadly Houthi missile strike.

“Yung labi ng dalawang nasawi na tripulante ay naroon sa barko dahil yung missile ay tumama sa fuel section ng barko at nagkaroon ng malaking sunog sa bahagi kung saan naroroon ‘yung dalawang tripulante,” said Cacdac in an interview over Radyo 630.

(The remains of the two crew members who died 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.)

“Nagkaroon ng emergency evacuation sa malaki ang sunog doon, kaya’t hindi sila nabalikan noong nag emergency evacuation,” he added.

(There was an emergency evacuation because the fire there was so big, that’s why they didn’t come back for the bodies.)

Cacdac, however, emphasized that a salvaging operation would be conducted to retrieve the remains.

“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 explained.

(But now we expect that there will be what is called salvaging operations and that the search for remains will be part of the salvaging operations. The vessel caught fire so the remains of our two crew members will be dug up.)

Safe and accounted for 

In the same interview, Cacdac said that all 10 Filipino crewmen aboard the shipping vessel are safe and accounted for, while the other three crew members who were severely hurt are currently receiving medical care at a hospital in Djibouti City.

DMW on Thursday evening clarified that there were three – not two as earlier reported – who were injured in the missile attack.

“Hindi magtatagal makakauwi sila nang ligtas. Yung tatlo ay stable ang condition, dinalaw rin po sila sa ospital kagabi, at inaasahan din po na hindi magtatagal ay magkakaroon na rin ng medical repatriation sa kanila,” Cacdac explained.

(It won’t take long for them to return home safely. The three [who were injured] are in stable condition, they were also visited at the hospital last night, and it is also expected that they will be granted a medical repatriation soon.)