The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed that MV Eternity C, a vessel recently attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, has sunk.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said five Filipino seafarers onboard were rescued and safe.

“Dun nga nakumpirma from the ship owner na lumubog ‘yung Eternity C at kasabay nito may limang tripulante na nasagip, nasa tubig sila. Hinahanap pa ‘yung the rest,” Cacdac said.

“They might have some injuries, but walang major injuries na inulat,” he said. “We are still getting details as to how exactly that happened and the rest, we’ll find out pag nakausap na namin ‘yung lima na na-rescue,” He added.

According to Cacdac, the vessel reportedly sank around 8 a.m. local time or 1p.m. Philippine time.

The search and rescue operations are still ongoing. Seventeen seafarers remain unaccounted for, and the DMW has yet to confirm how many were casualties.

“‘Yung 17 others right now are still being searched. Among the 17 were the reported fatalities which we will confirm once we talk to the 5 seafarers,” he said.

“May mga reports na apat, may reports na tatlo. We will still have to confirm and the best source at this stage would be the seafarers themselves,” he added.

MV Eternity C, a bulk carrier that was carrying 21 Filipino crew, was one of the two foreign-flagged vessels attacked by Houthi rebels on July 6.

Seventeen Filipinos, as well as Vietnamese and Romanian crew members, were able to escape from the other vessel, MV Magic Seas.

They were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and arrived safely in Djibouti on Monday, Djibouti authorities said.

The Red Sea, which passes Yemen’s coast, has long been a critical waterway for the world’s oil and commodities but traffic has dropped since the Iran-aligned Houthi militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war