The Russian Embassy in the Philippines announced that Captain Alexander Solodyannikov, the sick seaman who was airlifted from Mati City last April 7, is now safe and is currently confined at a medical center in Metro Manila.
Solodyannikov, a crewmember of tanker Asphalt Transporter, had an attack of an unknown respiratory syndrome when examined by a physician while the ship was sailing along Luzon channel.
The Asphalt Transporter moored at the entrance of Pujada Bay last Tuesday and Solodyannikov was fetched by the Coast Guard speedboat and transported to the waiting ambulance at the Mati wharf. He was successfully transported by plane to Manila by a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) medical team from the Mati Incident Management Team (IMT).
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Russian Embassy explained that the ship’s doctor could not help Solodyannikov. The post also said that no country would allow him to enter to be admitted to a hospital due to the COVID-19 scare.
It is the Philippine government that responded to the Embassy’s request very quickly despite the lockdown and the quarantine measures and allowed Solodyannikov to be taken off the ship to a medical center in Metro Manila. The Embassy thanked the Philippine Government for the swift response.
