DFA: 3 Pinoys rescued from sunken Korean fishing boat

Three Filipino seafarers were among those rescued from a South Korean fishing vessel that sank off Antarctica last Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. In a statement posted on its website, the DFA identified the Filipinos as: Carlo Castillo, Nickson Telete and Pilardo Mariano. It said the three were among 20 survivors rescued by another fishing vessel in the area that responded to the Number One Insung’s sinking and assisted in the rescue operations. The "Number One Insung" sank off the icy waters of Antarctica at 6:30 in the morning of December 12. "The crew includes 39 others, comprised of eight Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, and a Russian," the DFA said. As of Tuesday, the DFA said there were five fatalities and 17 other crew members still missing from the sea tragedy. Earlier in the day, an Associated Press report said New Zealand called off the search for the 17 missing fishermen. The AP report quoted spokesman Dave Wilson as saying that it was "exceedingly unlikely" that any of the 17 missing men could have survived as the boat sank very quickly and the crew had to abandon ship without putting on survival gear. It was not known what caused the vessel to sink or why no distress communication was received prior to its sinking. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) had called on nearby vessels in the area to aid in the search. The waters of Antartica are notoriously rough, but conditions during the rescue attempts consisted of light 10-knot winds and a one meter swell. The Embassy is coordinating with authorities and with the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs to extend assistance to the seafarers. — RSJ, GMANews.TV