Migrante International joins the families, friends and colleagues of the crew of a Taiwanese ship that has vanished at sea on February 26 in prayer and solidarity as they continue to hope for the safety of their loved ones.
The “Hsiang Fu Chun”, a fishing vessel, lost any sign of mayday 1,700 nautical miles off the Faulkland Islands in the remote South Atlantic Ocean. Its 49-member crew includes a Taiwanese skipper and chief engineer, 11 Chinese, 21 Indonesian, two Vietnamese and 13 Filipino.
“We continue to hope for the rescue not only of our fellow Filipinos but the rest of the crew, mostly migrant fishermen,” said Sol Pillas, Migrante International secretary-general.
For his part, Fred Asagra, chairperson of Migrante-Taiwan, said that they hope for the swift action from the Taiwan authorities.
“It will bring great comfort to their families back home if they hear good news of their rescue and safe return to land. It is very difficult to be a migrant fisherfolk in Taiwan. We hope all agencies of Taiwan and the Philippines are cooperating to ensure that they are found and returned back here.” ###
