2 Pinoy sailors on hijacked ship killed during rescue

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino seafarers of MV Eglantine, which was hijacked by Somali pirates last March 26, were killed during a rescue operation staged by the Iranian Navy last April 2, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The DFA withheld the identity of the victims, who were among the 10 Filipino crewmembers of the Cypriot-flagged and Iranian-owned bulk carrier. The ship has 23 crewmembers.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said one of the Filipino seamen died of a gunshot wound in the head while another died of suffocation when he sought refuge at the engine room during the rescue operation.

The families of the victims have been informed of their fate.

Citing a report of the Philippine embassy in Tehran, Hernandez said the pirates tied up all the crewmembers and used them as human shields as they exchanged fire with the rescuers.

The DFA received last Wednesday a report from a manning agency that the Eglantine was hijacked off the southwestern coast of India.

Chargé d’ Affaires Mariano Dumia of the Philippine embassy in Tehran welcomed the eight Filipino crewmembers, who disembarked from their ship in Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The Filipino crewmen were scheduled to arrive in the country last night.

The managing director of Kish Shipping Lines in Bandar Abbas assured the Philippine embassy that they would provide financial compensation to the families of the victims and facilitate their immediate repatriation.