Wife of missing Filipino seafarer pleads for help to locate husband: ‘We keep praying he’s still alive’

Wife of missing Filipino seafarer pleads for help to locate husband: ‘We keep praying he’s still alive’
Joey Gabieta - September 21, 2020 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1338066/wife-of-missing-filipino-seafarer-...

TACLOBAN CITY—The wife of one of the Filipino seafarers on board a cargo ship that capsized in waters off Japan is pleading for government help to locate her husband, saying she believed he is still alive.

Elna Garcia, 41, from Naval, Biliran and mother of three, said she has faith that her 40-year-old husband, Rex, is alive.

“We are calling President Duterte and Sen. Bong Go to help us. It’s frustrating because it appears that there is no effort to find my husband and his 39 companions,” she said in an interview.

“We really miss him, especially our one-year old son. Hope we can have him back this Christmas. We keep on praying that he is still alive,” she added.

Her husband was among 40 crew members of MV Gulf 1 declared as missing since the cargo vessel sank off the coast of Japan last Sept.2. Three of the crew members have been rescued.

MV Gulf 1, a Panamanian registered cargo vessel with 43 crew members who are mostly Filipinos, and bound for Jintang, China, sank off the coast of Japan when it blew an engine amid rough seas at the height of Typhoon Maysak.

“I was expecting him to call the following day as he usually does. We waited for his call the entire day only to learn through social media that the vessel has capsized,” Garcia said.
TSB