Deck crew second Filipino rescued off Japan: DOLE

September 5, 2020

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said a second Filipino has been rescued from cargo ship Gulf Livestock 1, which sank off the coasts of Japan last Wednesday.

Forty-one crew members, including 37 Filipinos remain missing from the hip which was also carrying 5,800 heads of cattle.

In a statement Saturday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Japanese Coast Guard has rescued drew crew Jay-Nel Rosales, 30, from Cebu.

"Rosales, a deck crew, was rescued by patrol boat Kaimon, and is stable and able to walk on his own, according to a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Osaka," said Bello.

"Rosales, who was taken to the Kagoshima-ken Kenritsu Ooshima Hospital for a complete medical check up, was able to talk with his family in Cebu," he added.

As for the first crew member rescued, Eduardo Sareno, Bello said the Oslob, Cebu native is still at the hospital but will be brought to a hotel for his quarantine later this week.

He said Sareno has been given a mobile phone to talk to his family in the Philippines.

Bello also said a separate body, believed to be that of another Filipino crew member, was fished out of the waters.

Bello assured families of the 39 Filipino seafarers they are in constant communication with the Japanese Coast Guard regarding search and rescue operations.

Bellosaid the Philippine government is prepared to extend all necessary assistance to survivors and families of the missing Filipino crew members, especially since they are all members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).  DMS