20 stranded Pinoy seafarers rescued in quake-hit Japan

UPDATED 9:39 p.m. - At least 20 Filipino seafarers stranded in Fukushima, Japan, where a nuclear plant is feared to be failing, have been located and sent on their way to the Narita airport early on Monday. According to a radio dzBB report on Monday, the seafarers boarded a bus headed for Narita Airport at 3:30 a.m. (Manila time). An earlier news release from the Department of Foreign Affairs said the seafarers were brought to Fukushima by their company after a magnitude-8.9 quake hit Japan on Friday. The DFA on Sunday said about 30 Filipino seafarers were rescued, and that they were "safely housed in a hotel" and were "duly cared for." Recent reports, however, indicate the rescued seafarers only number to 20, quoting officials of the Philippine Embassy in Japan, according to a '24 Oras' report by GMA News’ Chino Gaston, who is currently in Miyagi Prefecture’s Sendai, one of the worst-hit areas in Japan. Advocacy group Migrante-Japan also said the 20 Filipino seafarers were stranded in Sumire Hotel in Onohama. The seafarers, according to Migrante, were crew members of MV Coral Ring that docked at a port in Fukushima a day before the earthquake struck . The 20 were first rescued by the Japan’s Coast Guard and while stranded in the hotel, they were offered help by fellow Filipinos living in the area. A Reuters report on Monday quoted Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan as saying that the situation at a quake-damaged nuclear plant remained worrisome and that authorities were doing their utmost to prevent damage from spreading.
Click here for larger version Aside from the 20 seafarers, the efforts of Philippine authorities also focused on the 4,500 Filipinos in Japan’s northeast region, including Sendai city, which was heavily affected by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Friday, March 11. Affected Filipinos The Philippine Embassy said it has established contact with Filipinos in affected areas in Japan. The team dispatched by the Philippine Embassy managed to reach Sendai City, one of the areas heavily affected by the quake and tsunami. The initial reports from the team said there were no Filipinos among the casualties of the quake and tsunami. Philippine vice consul Ryan Pondoc, who was with the team, talked to Filipinos in the coastal areas and reported they were fine, the dzBB report added. Philippine Consul General to Japan Sulpicio Confiado also said the team brought food for the Filipinos in the affected areas. "They are managing. May mga provisions naman doon na binibigay sa evacuees (The Filipinos in the affected areas are managing. Our team brought food provisions to them)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. Nuclear threat Meanwhile, according to another Reuters report, the Japanese Nuclear Safety Agency on Saturday rated the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan at a four on a scale of one to seven. The report said the rating of four is not quite as bad as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979, which was rated a five. The differences between the Three-mile Island accident and the Fukushima situation were described as follows: THREE MILE ISLAND

Three Mile Island is the worst nuclear power accident in U.S. history even though it resulted in no injuries.

About half the reactor core in one unit at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania melted due to the loss of coolant. The other unit suffered no damage and still operates today.

The plant did vent a small amount of radiation to release pressure but nuclear experts said that release did not result in radiation levels beyond what environmental regulations allow.

State authorities recommended a voluntary evacuation of pregnant women and pre-school age children from within five miles of the plant. Within days, about 140,000 people had left the area.

Operators at Three Mile Island stopped the meltdown by restoring cooling water to the reactor core.

The Three Mile Island accident was caused by a combination of personnel error, design deficiencies and component failures, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

After Three Mile Island, the NRC strengthened safety standards for all U.S. reactors, delaying the construction of many reactors already under construction. The industry did not start building a new reactor in the United States for about 30 years, and only in the past few years have power companies sought permission to construct new reactors FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI:

Three units at the Daiichi nuclear plant suffered a loss of coolant to their reactors following a massive earthquake and a devastating tsunami. The fuel rods in at least one unit were damaged due to the loss of coolant and suffered a partial meltdown.

The plant vented a small amount of radiation to release pressure in the units' containment, raising the levels in the immediate vicinity of the plant above the legal limit. The plant also suffered an explosion caused by a buildup of hydrogen that collapsed the roof on at least one of the units.

The government ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from around the plant and by Saturday a total of 140,000 had been evacuated from around Daiichi and another nearby plant Daini.

Operators at Daiichi are pouring seawater into at least two reactors at the plant to prevent a further meltdown.

As for the future, nuclear experts said it was too soon to say what affect the Daiichi accident would have on the so-called nuclear renaissance, but noted it would certainly be a lot harder to build a new reactor for a while. The agency has not provided an update of its assessment since Saturday despite further problems at the Daiichi plant. Telecom services Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy said telecommunications services have resumed slowly, allowing them to get in touch with some Filipino communities. "More or less naka-establish na ng communication. Cell sites are working although sometimes may interference pero pwede makipag-communicate sa kamag-anak nila ," Confiado said in an interview on dzBB radio. (More or less we can establish communication. The cell sites are working although there is interference but at least we can communicate with Filipinos and their relatives.) "So far wala pa tayong reported na Filipino casualties. We continue to monitor the situation," he added. (So far there are no Filipino casualties reported. We continue to monitor the situation.) Citing initial reports, Confiado said many Filipinos in the affected areas remained in evacuation centers while others stayed home. "They banded together, they support one another," he said. – with reports from Reuters and Jerrie M. Abella, VVP/YA, GMA News