Pinoys in tanker blast checked

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assured the public on Tuesday that it is checking on the fate of the 17 Filipino seafarers that were affected by last week’s oil tanker explosion at a South Korea port.

In a statement, the DFA said that the Philippine Embassy in Seoul is already closely coordinating with the South Korean authorities to “ascertain their condition and make sure that they are out of harm’s way.”

The Foreign Affairs department recounted that 15 of these Filipino overseas workers were aboard the berthed Stolt Groenland tanker when the explosion occurred and the Filipinos were evacuated safely along with their Russian crewmates.

On the other hand, the DFA said that two of the nine wounded in a nearby tanker which caught fire due to the explosion were also reported to be Filipinos.