Filipino mom, 2 kids among MH17 crash fatalities, DFA says

(Updated 4::43 p.m.) A Filipino mother, her son, and daughter were among the more than 200 passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down in Ukrainian territory, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters Friday.

After notifying the families of the three fatalities, the DFA identified them as:

• Irene Gunawan, 54;
• Sherryl Shania Gunawan, 20; and
• Darryl Dwight Gunawan, 15

Flight MH17 was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam in The Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia when it went down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday night (Manila time). The aircraft did not make a distress call.

It was carrying 298 people, including 283 passengers of various nationalities, and 15 Malaysian crew.

In a separate press briefing, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said “the son is a teenager and the daughter is older than her brother.”

“That’s the only information that we could give as of the moment,” Jose told a press briefing.

The three are holders of Philippine passports, Jose said, citing DFA records, which also revealed that the residential address they indicated in their passport application was in the Netherlands.

“We are not sure if Kuala Lumpur was the transit of their destination or elsewhere,” Jose said, adding the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is in close coordination with Malaysia Airlines and other concerned Malaysian authorities.

Jose added the DFA will let Malaysia Airlines notify the family of the victims.

“But if they won’t be able to do so and if they request us, we will notify the next of kin,” he said.

Asked if the DFA will be issuing a travel advisory for Filipino travelers to Europe, Jose said, “None, so far.”

Jose also said it is up to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to decide if it will issue a directive to Philippine air carriers to avoid the Ukraine corridor to and from Europe. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News