2 FILIPINOS KILLED IN HOUTHI MISSILE ATTACK OFF YEMEN — DMW

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed on Thursday that two Filipino sailors were killed in a missile attack on a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen.

“With great sadness, the Department of Migrant Workers confirms the death of two Filipino seafarers in the most recent attack by Houthi rebels on ships plying the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the DMW statement read.

“We in the Department of Migrant Workers sincerely extend our deepest condolences to the family and kin of our slain, heroic seafarers. For reasons of privacy, we are withholding their names and identities, it added.

The DMW also said that two other Filipino crewmen were severely injured in the attack on their ship.

“We pray for their immediate recovery,” the Department said.

“On the direction of the President, the DMW is extending the fullest support and assistance to the families of our seafarers,” it said.

The DMW is in touch with the ship’s manning agency and shipowner to ascertain the conditions of the rest of the ship’s crew, particularly the remaining Filipino crew members, as they were informed that they have been taken to a safe port.

The DMW also coordinated with the principal shipowner and manning agency to work on the repatriation of the remaining Filipino crew members.

It reiterated its call to shipowners with ships navigating the volatile Red Sea – Gulf of Aden sea lanes to comply strictly with the expanded “high risk areas” designation and to implement appropriate risk mitigation measures, such as rerouting vessels and deploying armed security personnel onboard such vessels.

The DMW also calls for continued diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and to address the causes of the current conflict in the Middle East.