Yemen Monitor/News Room
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it has not yet confirmed the death of a Filipino sailor following a Houthi attack in Yemen last week on a bulk carrier in the Red Sea.
Speaking to GMA Integrated News, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said that they cannot confirm the death yet until they see the body of the Filipino sailor hoping that the sailor who is still missing is still alive
“There is no absolutely confirmed information yet as far as the [Philippine] government is concerned,” De Vega said.
According to De Vega, Philippine Embassy in Athens headed by Ambassador Giovanni Palic met with the shipping manager of MV Tutor.
The DFA official said the MV Tutor shipping manager informed Ambassador Palic that the search and rescue operations for the missing Filipino sailor will be conducted once the ship is brought to a safe port.
“We are still optimistic and we are in touch with the sailor’s family,” added De Vega in Greece.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported quoting National Security Council spokesman John Kirby that a Filipino sailor was killed on board the MV Tutor, a Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged vessel.
The AFP report said MV Tutor suffered heavy flooding and was abandoned after it was struck by a drone boat off the rebel-held port of Hodeidah on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said 21 of the 22 Filipino crew members of the ship that was attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea were rescued, and they arrived in the Philippines on Monday.
The Philippines, through the DFA, condemned the attack and urged UN members to “protect the human rights of seafarers.”
