The remains of a Filipino seafarer who died during a Houthi rebel attack on the MV Eternity C in the Red Sea last July have arrived in Manila, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

Neil Roy Faner, one of the crew members killed in the incident, will be cremated in Manila before his remains are returned to his home province of Iloilo, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

OWWA deputy administrator Jasmine Gapatan said the agency would provide financial aid and death benefits to Faner’s family. She added that scholarships would be offered to his dependents, along with support for integration and livelihood, and that psychosocial counselling would also be made available.

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Migrant Workers Undersecretary Felicitas Bay explained that the delay in repatriating the seafarer’s remains was primarily due to the need for clearances from the host country, Oman.

She added that the process required coordination with the mortuary and completion of necessary documentation. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) had already provided P100,000 to the family.

Bay also confirmed that, in the same incident, two seafarers were reported dead and one remained missing. Nine Filipino seafarers who had been held captive by Houthi rebels were repatriated to Manila last Thursday, following the first batch of eight seafarers who returned in July. The MV Eternity C carried a total of 21 Filipino crew members at the time of the attack.

References: philstar, gmanetwork