296 Pinoy crewmen on Italian cruise ship safe

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported yesterday that all 296 Filipino crewmembers of the ill-fated M/V Costa Concordia are safe and awaiting repatriation after their cruise ship capsized off the coast of Grosseto, Tuscany in Western Italy last Friday.

Officials of the Philippine embassy in Rome said Costa Crociere S.P.A, the company that owns the cruise ship, assured the Filipino crewmen that the firm is organizing the repatriation flights to Manila beginning today.

The company provided the official list of the Filipino crewmembers to the embassy’s Emergency Response Team and assured the team that the firm would give full compensation to the Filipino crew, refund their lost belongings, replace their lost cash, and issue a formal letter of undertaking detailing the company’s firm commitment.

The embassy team has started issuing travel documents to the Filipino crewmembers at the La Fattoria, Granduca and Terme hotels in Grosseto to facilitate their repatriation to the Philippines.

All travel documents, including the photographs of the Filipinos, are processed free of charge by the team.

Three Filipino crewmembers were reportedly confined in a hospital in Grosseto for injuries suffered when they fell on the ship’s deck.

Philippine Ambassador to Italy Virgilio Reyes Jr. dispatched the seven-man embassy Emergency Response Team, led by Consul General Grace Cruz-Fabella, to provide the necessary assistance to the Filipino crew.

Six bodies have been recovered while several others were reported missing after the mishap.

It was earlier reported that around 4,000 people were on board the vessel. The ship had a crew of 1,000.

The Costa Concordia, a 1,500-cabin luxury vessel, is one of the largest ships of Costa Cruises.

Along with the response team, a nerve center for operations was activated by the embassy in Rome to coordinate actions of the response team and the feedback of the Costa Crociere S.P.A and relevant managing agencies, and to ensure timely reporting to the DFA.