Greece to send home Pinoy seaman's remains

The remains of a Filipino seafarer who died aboard a ship in Greece on Maundy Thursday will be sent home to the Philippines, authorities in Greece said Saturday. Philippine chargé d'affaires Eleanor Jaucian reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the remains of Pepito Flores, who died last April 5 in an accident during safety drill exercises on board Bahamas-flagged cruiser "Astoria," will be sent home to the Philippines. Jaucian said that an Embassy official will seal the casket containing the remains on April 14 in Athens. The Embassy will inform the department on the flight details of the shipment of Flores' remains once finalized. In her report to the department, Jaucian said that the official report from the Corfou (Kerkyra) Coast Guard stated that the ' Astoria ' docked at Corfou Port at 7:38 a.m. last April 5 and was set to sail out at 8 that evening. At about 10:35 a.m. on the same day, an accident occurred while the ship's crew members were doing safety drill exercises on board the ship that resulted in injuries to two Ukrainian crew members and the death of crewman Flores. The Corfou Coast Guard immediately brought in experts to inspect the ship and found that one of the lifeboats was hanging from its stern. There was also a crack on the solder of the stern's supporting structure. Upon the order of the Corfou Public Prosecutor, the ship's Captain was placed under arrest and the ship was banned from leaving the island until cleared by the Corfou Coast Guard. The initial official report did not state how crewman Flores suffered fatal injuries from the accident and an autopsy was ordered. - GMANews.TV