MANILA, Philippines – Ten Filipino crew members aboard the vessel struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden in Yemen are safe and accounted for, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed on Thursday.
The agency also clarified that there were three, not two as earlier reported, seriously wounded Filipino crewmen in Wednesday’s attack.
“We welcome the report that our seafarers are safe and secure, away from the dangers they faced yesterday,” said DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac in a statement.
“I had a video call with all 10 Filipino crew members in a Djibouti hotel and attest to their safety,” he added.
Meanwhile, the three injured seafarers are in stable condition in a hospital in Djibouti City.
The DMW added that its senior officials have met with the families of the two Filipino seafarers who were killed in the incident.
“We have expressed our deepest sympathies to the families and will provide all the assistance and support needed by the families of our fallen seafarers, as directed by the President,” said Cacdac.
The DMW also said that it is coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and its Migrant Workers Office in the Middle East to personally meet with the crew.
“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 noted.
Senators’ concern
Meantime, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Imee Marcos also aired their concern over the incident.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of two Filipino seafarers in the recent attack by Houthi rebels on ships in the Gulf of Aden. The Filipino people mourn the death of these brave individuals,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
Gatchalian also noted that the DFA should engage diplomatically to address the matter on an international level.
Marcos, for her part, said that she condemns the incident in the “strongest possible terms.”
“Filipinos are peace-loving people and the Philippines is not a party to the conflict afflicting the Middle East. There is thus no reason, other than sheer evil, for the Houthi Rebels to murder our countrymen,” she said in a statement.
She called upon the DMW to give the victims and their families all possible assistance that may be given under the law.