At the request of the Philippine government, the Chinese Coast Guard conducted a two-day search and rescue operations for the 36 Filipino crewmen of the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel that sank off the waters of Japan early this month but found no trace of the missing crew.
In a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Manila on Thursday, it said the search and rescue operations were conducted on September 19 and 20 as requested by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the missing crew members. We will continue to provide necessary assistance as requested by the Philippine side and sincerely hope all of them could be found at the earliest.
To recall, the vessel with 43 crewmembers – 39 Filipinos, two Australians, and two New Zealand nationals – was on its way to China to deliver nearly 6,000 live cows when it capsized in the early morning of September 2, 2020 as Typhoon Maysak hit Southern Japan seas where it was traversing at that time.