296 FILIPINOS CONFIRMED SAFE

Embassy officials have reported that 296 Filipinos serving on the cruise ship than ran aground in Italy on Friday are safe as authorities try to ascertain the number of Philippine nationals aboard the ship amid conflicting reports.

The 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia ran aground near Giglio Island off the coast of Italy on Friday evening, causing the vessel to list and forcing passengers and the 1,000-member crew to abandon the vessel.

Roughly a third of the cruise ship’s staff are Filipinos and at least three of their compatriots are now confined at a hospital.

“The three Filipino crew members who were reported confined in a hospital, were admitted for suffering injuries due to bad shake/fall from decks,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila said.

Fears of more casualties of also came after a report by the UK’S Daily Mail that 29 Filipino kitchen staff of the ship had been trapped in the vessel’s galley. But DFA spokesman Raul Gonzalez said they are still verifying this report.

“They are still accounting for the Filipino crew members on board the cruise ship. So far, they have accounted for 296 Filipino seafarers,” he said.

The DFA said that as per initial reports, around 4,000 people are onboard the ship, including some 1,000 crewmembers, around 300 of whom are Filipinos.