Government to assist families of Filipinos in boat sinking

MANILA, Philippines — The government is ready to extend assistance to the families of five Filipinos who died after their fishing vessel capsized in the Indian Ocean on May 16, President Marcos said yesterday.

In a post on Twitter, Marcos extended his condolences to the families of the victims and assured them of aid.

“Our government is ready to provide them assistance,” Marcos said in Filipino.

The Chief Executive also thanked the Australian and Chinese search and rescue teams for conducting extensive operations “in spite of the unforgiving weather.”

The five Filipinos were among the 39 sailors aboard fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028.

Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 capsized at around 3 a.m. (Manila time) 5,000 kilometers, or 2,700 nautical miles, west of Perth, Australia on Tuesday last week.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said it is working with the Department of Migrant Workers in organizing the repatriation of the remains of the five Filipino sailors.

An additional 17 Chinese and 17 Indonesian nationals are feared dead from the incident.

The Chinese embassy in Manila has also offered its condolences to the families.

“We express our heartfelt and deepest condolences over the death of crew members on board, including five Filipino nationals,” a statement issued yesterday read.

“We will provide full support to the concerned agency regarding the proper handling of the incident’s aftermath,” the Chinese embassy added.

The statement noted that since the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 capsized in the central Indian Ocean, the Chinese government has been mobilizing all relevant forces to the rescue efforts.

It noted that countries including Australia, India and Sri Lanka have extended emergency assistance by sending vessels and aircraft to the large-scale multinational maritime rescue, covering an area of nearly 18,700 square nautical miles.

“The Chinese government sincerely appreciates the prompt help from those countries,” the Chinese embassy said, days after the incident.

“The Chinese embassy has been communicating closely with the Philippine government since the beginning. We informed the accident to DFA, PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) and other relevant departments in the first place and sought their utmost and invaluable assistance,” the embassy added. — Michael Punongbayan