The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has confirmed that the 21 Filipino crewmembers of a commercial vessel that suffered damage in an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebel group last week have been safely evacuated. The sailors of the Liberia-flagged, Greek-owned coal carrier Tutor were brought on board a US Navy vessel and have been transported to Bahrain, the DMW said on Saturday, June 15.
The evacuation came three days after Tutor was hit in a Houthi attack while it was underway in the southern Red Sea on Wednesday, June 12. Shortly after the attack, the crew posted videos on social media to request assistance from the Philippine government.
Reports stated that one of the crew went missing in the aftermath of the attack. Philippine officials said the whereabouts of this individual remain unknown.
The rescued sailors were subsequently placed into the care of a joint team of officials from the DMW and the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain. DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said that the survivors arrived in Manila on the morning (local time) of Monday, June 17.
Cacdac added that a search operation will be launched to locate the sole missing crewmember of Tutor. This individual was last seen in the ship's engine room on Wednesday just prior to the attack.