DAVAO CITY — The Russian government expressed deep gratitude to the Philippine government for saving the life of a Russian ship captain who suffered an attack at the mid-sea when almost every country they sought for help turned their back.
In a Facebook post on Thursday night, the Russian Embassy stated “Thanks to the swift and decisive actions of the Philippine Government we managed to save a life. Captain Alexander Solodyannikov of the tanker “Asphalt Transporter”.
“The tanker was on the way to Australia and they asked a few countries to help, I don’t want to mention them, not too many actually,” Russian Embassy Press Attaché Natalia Linovitskaya said.
The Russian seafarer was picked up by a helicopter and was transported to a hospital in Metro Manila for treatment. He was eventually diagnosed with asthma, the embassy said.
Linovitskaya said “The ship’s doctor could not help him and amid the COVID-19 scare no country would allow him to enter to be admitted to a hospital. The Government of the Philippines responded to the Embassy’s request very quickly despite the lockdown and the quarantine measures and allowed the Captain to be taken off the ship to a medical center in Metro Manila”.
It added “Things were not looking good for some time, but now Capt. Solodyannikov is safe.”
The embassy stressed “On behalf of his family and ourselves, we thank our dear friends from the Philippines for helping us save a life! Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines Russian Foreign Ministry “.
