Philippines rescues Vietnamese crew kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf

The Vietnamese Embassy in Manila is preparing necessary measures to receive crew member Do Trung Hieu and return him to his family.

On August 21, a representative of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that they had received information that crew member Do Trung Hieu - who worked on the Royal 16 ship and was kidnapped by the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in November 2016 - had been rescued by the Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf rebels. Photo: The Star/ANN.

“We have received information that crew member Do Trung Hieu was rescued by the Philippines. We have immediately contacted the Philippine authorities to verify the information and directed the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila to prepare necessary measures to be ready to receive crew member Do Trung Hieu and return him to his family,” said a representative of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Previously, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, on November 11, 2016, the Royal 16 ship departed from Quang Ninh and was on its way to transport cement to the Philippines when it was attacked by pirates. At that time, there were 19 crew members on board. After attacking the ship, the pirates took 6 people hostage, including captain Pham Minh Tuan, 3 deputy captains including Do Trung Hieu, Hoang Vo, Tran Khuong Dung; and two sailors Hoang Van Hai and Hoang Trung Thong./.

According to VOV