DFA Identifies Two Filipino Seamen Killed in Sunken Bulk Jupiter
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs identified on Monday the two Filipino seamen who died in last week’s sinking of cargo vessel Bulk Jupiter off Vietnam.
DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the two fatalities were ship captain Ronel Acueza Andrin, 45, of Quezon province, and third officer Jerome Maquilang Dinoy, 23, of Cebu.
Repatriation of their remains to Manila is being arranged, Jose said.
The two were among the 19 Filipino sailors of the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier that sank off Vietnam last Friday.
Jose said that while Chief Cook Angelito Roxas survived the incident, the search for the 16 other missing sailors continued.
Vietnamese news agency Tuoi Tres News identified the missing Filipinos as: Renner Carl Resos Abugadie, Gibbson Ladica Ranara, Alexis Thomas Piala Bacalla, Joseph Bantolino Damasen, Lot Olavides Correos, Reydante Santos Mendoza, Ricky Arangorin Gapasin, Jonniefer Derapite Aleta, Renator Flores Toribio, Wynfred Penaranda Balazo, Edgar Tabanao Melecio, George Barbaso Espliguera Jr., Edwin Deriada Acebo, Rosilo Navarro Sansolis, Gilbert Feliciano Flora, and Mark Timothy Denosta Causarin.
No new survivor or body recovered
Three days after the sinking, no new survivor or body has been found, a Palace official said on Monday.
“Ang latest update from the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi is that there are no new remains recovered or survivors rescued aside from the earlier two bodies recovered, which are now in Ho Chi Minh City, and the one survivor who was rescued,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
Secretary Lacierda noted that Vietnam’s Navy has added three helicopters to the search efforts and has called on other countries in the area to help in the search.
“We are asking the Secretary of National Defense if we can extend assistance. That is being looked at now,” he said.
He said a team from the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Honorary Consul in Ho Chi Minh City are coordinating with the shipping agent over the incident.