Pinoy sailor dead in Japan ship collision; 3 others still missing

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Wednesday night the death of a Filipino seaman in a three-ship collision in Kobe, Japan.

Three other sailors from the Philippines are missing and five others who have been rescued were confined in a hospital.

DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal said Philippine Consul General in Tokyo Sulpicio Confiado has reported that the Belize-registered cargo ship MV Gold Leader, with nine Filipino crewmen on board, was involved in a collision with two other vessels Wednesday afternoon off Akashi Channel in Kobe.

Japan’s coast guard earlier reported that six of the Filipino crew members had been rescued, including one who was unconscious.

“The Japanese coast guard informed the (Philippine) embassy that of the nine Filipino crewmen, five had been rescued, three were still missing and one had died," Cristobal said in a text message.

Search and rescue operations for the missing sailors are continuing. Investigation on the collision and its aftermath is ongoing, Cristobal said.

The DFA assured that the Philippine embassy in Tokyo and the Philippine consulate general in Osaka will provide assistance to the Filipino seamen.

The Japanese coast guard said it has deployed 11 vessels and four aircraft to search for the three still missing crewmen.

Gold Leader sank after the collision with a Japan-registered vessel and a tanker about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the Akashi bridge in the Akashi Strait, the statement said. Gold Leader was carrying steel products, the coast guard said.

None of the five crew members of the Japanese ship was injured, but the status of the tanker's crew was not yet clear, the coast guard statement said. - GMANews.TV

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