2 Filipinos among 8 new bodies found near S. Korea trawler

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippines confirmed that two more Filipinos died in the sinking of a South Korean fishing vessel off the coast of Russia, bringing the number of Filipino fatalities to 3. 

Eight more bodies were recovered Thursday, December 4, from the area where a the trawler sank in the Bering Sea off Russia’s far east coast on Monday, leaving 33 crew members including 7 Filipinos still missing.

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs refused to disclose the names of the two new Filipino fatalities because the government is still notifying their relatives. 

The Department on Thursday identified the first Filipino fatality as 25-year-old Jessie Londres. There were 13 Filipinos on board the ill-fated vessel, with 3 of them rescued and in safe condition. 

A total of 20 bodies have now been recovered since the 1,753-ton Oryong 501 trawler went down Monday in rough, icy seas with 60 people on board.

Only 7 people were rescued.

The 8 bodies recovered Thursday included the two Filipinos, two Indonesians, two South Koreans, and two unidentified crew members, said a spokesman for the vessel’s operator, Sajo Industries.

A US coastguard plane has been helping South Korean and Russian ships scouring the area, backed by a Russian helicopter. 

South Korea plans to dispatch two naval planes and a coast guard ship, despite the increasingly unlikely prospect of finding any survivors.

Those on board included 11 South Koreans, 35 Indonesians, 13 Philippine crew members, as well as a Russian fisheries inspector who was among the rescued. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com