The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured that assistance will be extended to the families of 2 Filipino workers who died on board a fishing vessel crushed by a collapsed bridge in Taiwan.

“All possible assistance will be extended to the family of those killed in the incident. Death and other benefits will also be provided,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a statement.

“Scholarship benefits will be extended to the victims’ children,” he added.

The DOLE identified the fatalities as Andree Abregana Serencio and Gorge Jagmis Impang. Another worker, Romulo Ilustrisimo Escalicas Jr. remains missing.

Five other Filipinos identified as Julio S. Gimawa, Jason N. Villaruel, Allan H. Alcansano, John Vicente Royo and June B. Flores were reported injured and were brought to the hospital for immediate treatment and medical attention.

With this, it noted that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Taiwan is also facilitating the repatriation of the remains of Serencio and Impang.

“Officials at the POLO visited the victims at the hospital and provided their immediate needs and personal requirements,” the DOLE said.

“POLO Taiwan is on top of the situation and providing necessary and extended assistance to the affected workers and their families to recover from the unfortunate incident,” the statement added.

The search and retrieval operation on the collapsed bridge in Nanfangao, located in the island-nation’s Yilan County, is still ongoing. (PNA)