14 Pinoys rescued as container vessel sinks off Yemen

At least 14 Filipinos were among the crew of a container vessel that broke into two and sank off Yemen last Monday, an Indian news site reported.

 

The incident occurred around 200 nautical miles from Yemen or about 840 nautical miles west of Mumbai, Indian Express reported.

 

It quoted an Indian Coast Guard official as saying the vessel's hull "broke into two off the Mumbai coast and the crew members were rescued from the ship in two life rafts and a life boat." 

 

Rescued were the vessel's 26 crewmembers, who included 14 Filipinos and 12 Russians, the report said.

 

The rescued crewmembers were to be brought to Colombo, the report said.

 

The 316-meter-long "MOL Comfort" was reportedly carrying 4,500 containers from Saudi Arabia and heading for Singapore when it split in two.

 

It also caused an oil spill, the Indian Express report said.

 

Also, the report quoted Coast Guard officials as saying the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai diverted three nearby ships to help in the rescue operation.  — ELR, GMA News