Coast Guard promises aid to families of 5 Pinoys on capsized Chinese vessel
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:36 p.m.) — The Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday expressed condolences and promised assistance to the families left behind by Filipino sailors who died after a fishing vessel capsized in the Indian Ocean last week.
There were 39 sailors aboard fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028—five Filipinos, 17 Chinese and 17 Indonesians. No one survived the incident, according to an initial probe done by China’s transport ministry.
“We are coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs to know how we can assist the affected families during this difficult time,” Coast Guard Vice Adm. Rolando Lizor Punzalan Jr., who is also the officer-in-charge of the PCG, said in a statement on Wednesday. The Philippines is a major source of seafarers with around 385,000 Filipinos on ship crews worldwide.
The Department of Foreign Affairs meanwhile said it is working with the Department of Migrant Workers in organizing the repatriation of the remains of the five Pinoy sailors. The two agencies will also work together on the benefits that will be accorded to their families.
Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 capsized at around 3 a.m., Manila time, in Australia’s search-and-rescue region — around 5,000 kilometers, or 2,700 nautical miles, west of Perth — on Tuesday last week.
The PCG said they have been monitoring and coordinating on search-and-rescue operations with the Australian Maritime Rescue Center and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 capsized.
“We thank the Australian SAR teams for their efforts as we understood the risks they faced while scouring the vast waters amid unpredictable weather conditions,” Punzalan said.
Rescuers had to search an area spanning 64,000 square kilometers or 18,700 square nautical miles and did not find survivors.
The DFA said 12 vessels and six aircraft from Australia, China, India, Sri Lanka, among others were involved in the SAR operations that was affected by inclement weather. Rescuers had to go search an area spanning 64,000 square kilometers or 18,700 square nautical miles and did not find survivors.
Chinese state media reported on Monday that seven bodies had been found by Chinese and Sri Lankan rescue vessels. — with reports from Agence France-Presse
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