|
By Llanesca T. Panti, Reporter
An explosion aboard a ship in Athens killed a
Filipino seaman on July 23, a Philippine envoy said Sunday.
Philippine Ambassador to Greece Rigoberto Tiglao
confirmed that Chief Mate Romualdo Jopia, a 48-year-old resident of
Pasig City, was aboard the M/T Friendship Gas that was flying under
a Panamanian flag of convenience.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks on the
vessel exploded while repairs were being done at the Perama Shipyard
in Greece, the envoy added.
Jopia and seven other seafarers, including five
Greeks, died in the blast.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Claro
Cristobal said Jopia’s remains would be repatriated next week.
Another Filipino seafarer, Arman Majillana, was
injured during the accident. He and three Greeks sustained injuries
resulting from smoke inhalation. They were rushed to a nearby
hospital, which soon discharged Majillana.
Jopia’s death came three days after Somali
pirates seized 20 of 21 Filipino crew of freighter Stella Maris at
the Gulf of Aden.
On Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported that
eight foreign workers seized near a major oil export terminal in
southern Nigeria were released late Saturday, quoting Lt. Col. Musa
Sagir, an Nigerian Army spokesman.
“The eight men have been voluntarily released
by the kidnappers and no ransom was paid,” he said without giving
details on who the kidnappers were.
The raid came a day after five foreign oil
workers were kidnapped during a similar attack.
Eleven people, most of them Russians and
Filipinos, were originally taken but six were later released along
with the vessel. No other details about the released hostages were
reported.
-- With AFP
|
