(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed a Filipino has died in the sinking of a Panamanian-flagged ship off Japan.
The DFA made the announcement after authorities confirmed the person who was found face down and unconscious adrift at sea on Sept. 4 was indeed of Filipino nationality.
The family of the deceased identified the remains, the DFA said.
Meanwhile, the department said based on reports from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, the Japanese Coast Guard did not find any survivor or remains in yesterday’s search.
The DFA said an empty life raft on a sandy beach was found but there was no clue of any missing crew member.
The Japanese Coast Guard is expected to resume the full sea and aerial search today.
“The Philippine government remains steadfast in providing full support to our Filipino seafarers and their families as our foreign service posts and POLO in Japan continue to monitor and coordinate the situation with the Japanese authorities,” the DFA said.
Earlier, the DFA reported the rescue of a Filipino who was a crew member of the vessel.
This was days after Eduardo Sareno, 45, was rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard only hours after the freighter transmitted a distress signal early Wednesday.
At that time, the vessel was 115 miles west of Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The DFA said that the two Filipino survivors have been in contact with their respective families.
The vessel had 39 Filipino crew members.
There were also two Australians, two New Zealand nationals, and around 5800 live cattle when the incident happened.
