Efforts to rescue five Filipino crew members of the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 which capsized off the Indian Ocean last week have yielded negative results, the Philippine Coast Guard has announced.
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed the death of five Filipino seafarers.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said the DFA is monitoring developments on the case with the Department of Migrant Workers on the repatriation of the remains of the Filipino crew members.
Daza assured that benefits will be provided to the families of the seafarers.
After days of coordination and monitoring with international partners on the developments regarding the search and rescue operation, the PCG has expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the 39 crew members, including the five Filipino sailors.
“We are saddened by this development. Since day one, we have been monitoring and coordinating with the Australian Maritime Rescue Center and the Chinese Embassy as to the progress of the search and rescue operations,” said Rear Admiral Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson.
Balilo recognized the sacrifices of the Australian SAR teams that conducted an extensive area of operations in the Indian Ocean.
“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,” he said.
He added: “We are coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs to know how we can assist the affected families during this difficult time.”
The vessel, owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co, capsized at dawn last 15 May.
A Reuters report quoting Chinese media CCTV said that seven bodies were recovered from the capsized vessel, adding that the remains were found by Sri Lankan divers inside the cabin of the vessel.
Of the 39 people that were originally on board — 17 Chinese crew members, 17 Indonesians, and five from the Philippines — it was not immediately clear which crew members were found, the report said.