MANILA— The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday reported that 10 Filipinos are “in the hands of suspected pirates” who hijacked two vessels in the Gulf of Guinea.
Ambassador to Nigeria Shirley Ho-Vicario said two Filipino seafarers on board a Liberian-flagged container ship were among the 11 crew members kidnapped by pirates who boarded their vessel on Saturday.
Meanwhile, another eight Filipino seafarers on a Panamanian-registered tanker, along with nine other crew members, remain unaccounted for after their vessel was hijacked by pirates on Monday, October 29.
As of this posting, the Philippine embassy in Nigeria is “exerting efforts to establish the whereabouts of the 10 seafarers and secure their safe release,” the envoy said.
It was not immediately clear if the seafarers were taken by the same group of pirates who abducted seven Filipinos on board a Swiss-flagged vessel off Nigerian waters last month.
The seven were released on Sunday, October 28, and are now in Zurich, Switzerland, from where they will be flown to Manila. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)
