Beth Navarro, a permanent Filipina resident in Singapore and aunt of a Pinoy marine engineering cadet caught in a ship blaze in the middle of the Arabian Sea near Oman, revealed the family’s ordeal for over a month.
It was on March 6, 2018 when they heard about the death of John Rey Divinagracia Begasos, Navarro’s nephew, together with his best friend and fellow marine engineering intern, in the fire that erupted in the Maersk Honam.
Since then, Navarro became the strong force for the family because Begasos’ mother could not think straight for days, and news of his demise sent his father into utter depression.
Navarro remained steadfast all throughout the ordeal. She helped the family of her nephew contact local authorities of Maersk, asking for assistance in locating Begasos and Janrey Genovatin.
She sought assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to help them recover the remains of the two Filipinos.
Navarro narrated that at first, a spokesperson for Maersk talked to them and discussed news about their retrieval operations.
“Sabi ng Maersk, within 72 hours idedeclare na raw [nila] yung mare-recover,” Navarro said.
“On March 13, we finally received news that the remains of Begaso and Genovatin were found and transported to port of Mumbai. Both families then requested Maersk to go to Mumbai to witness the identification of remains and give their DNA samples to forensic experts. However, the company rejected the request.
“Mag-iistop na kayo ng rescue? Opo daw kasi wala na daw [sila] paraan para makilala sila,” she added.
At first, they thought that the bodies of the Genovatin and Begaso were transferred to the Fujairah Hospital but fellow OFWs who talked to authorities there said the two were not admitted there.
The Filipino Times has also confirmed this through a call to the said hospital.
After weeks of waiting, Navarro said that according to Maersk, the bodies of Begasos and Genovatin are now in Mumbai.
Navarro added that they were set to fly there to undergo DNA testing, which Maersk will use to confirm if the body that they have found is indeed that of Begasos.
But just before things got better, Begaso’s father died.
“Magulo din yung utak namin kasi nakahimlay pa yung tatay. Hindi namin alam kung paano na naman kami magsisimula,” Navarro tearfully said.
“Hindi pa nga natatapos yung isang problema, dumating na naman yun,” she added.
“Ilang beses na namin ni-request na madaliin yung pagkuha ng remains for DNA kasi mahigit nang isang buwan,” Navarro told The Filipino Times.
When asked to give a message to Maersk, Navarro had this to say:
“Nananawagan kami na bilisan nila yung pagkuha ng DNA, pangalawa mapapapunta yung magulang doon ng mga namatay.”
“Pangalawa, dun sa gobyerno. Dun sa mga kinauuulan. Ano po sana, sa OWWA, sa DOLE sa POEA, na matulungan po yung kaso ng dalawang John Rey. John Rey Begaso at Janrey Genovatin na matulungan po yung pamilya na makuha yung remains para mabigyan na po ng disenteng libing,” Navarro said.
Maersk’s shipping vessel, Maersk Honam, caught fire at around 1520 GMT on March 6, about 900 nautical miles southeast of Salalah, Oman.
A few days after the mishap, Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, released a statement saying, “Given the time passed and the severe fire damages of the vessel we must conclude by now that we have lost all four colleagues who have been missing since the fire onboard Maersk Honam which began on 6 March.”
“All four families of our deceased colleagues have been informed,” it added.
Navarro said they have yet to receive word regarding any findings and information about the remains of the two Filipino students.
Aside from Begaso and Genovatin, seven other Filipino crew members were aboard the vessel when the fire started.
The Filipino Times has tried to reach and get the side of Maersk but they have yet to answer our queries.
