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This handout photograph taken and released by the Operational Command South in Odesa region on 8 November 2023 shows a damaged civilian vessel flying the Liberian flag that Ukraine said was hit by a Russian missile while entering a port in the Black Sea region of Odesa, injuring the ship's crew and killing a harbour pilot. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN GROUND FORCES / AFP)
At least three Filipino seafarers were injured after their Liberian-flagged civilian vessel was hit by a Russian missile in the Black Sea off Ukraine's port city of Odesa, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
According to DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo De Vega, the three Filipino seafarers are composed of one engine trainee, a captain, and a third mate.
The engine trainee sustained a fracture on his left hand, while the captain and the other crew incurred minor injuries.
"[They] are being treated medically in a hospital in Odessa," De Vega told the Daily Tribune in a Viber message.
He also said that the three Filipino sailors were "all out of danger."
"All next of kin are notified that they are out of harm's way," he stressed.
Meanwhile, De Vega said the department is verifying reports that there was another Filipino seafarer injured in the incident that was not initially part of the earlier report.
"We are verifying reports that there is a fourth Filipino seafarer also with minor injuries at the hospital," he said.
The DFA said at least one Ukraine national was killed in the incident.
