January 21, 2009

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/145237/13-Pinoys-killed-in-KSA-road-accidents-since-Jan-1

13 Pinoys killed in KSA road accidents since Jan. 1
RONALDO CONCHA, GMANews.TV
01/21/2009 02:55 PM

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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – The death of three Filipinos in a vehicular collision in eastern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night brings to 13 the total number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) killed in road accidents the kingdom since January 1.

Of the total, ten occurred in the western region, the latest of which happened Sunday along the road from Madinah (Medina) and the central province of Qassim, said the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah.

The fatality, Teddy Y. Aranca, was a worker of Atlas Copco Company, said the consulate’s Assistance to Nationals Section.A week earlier, four Filipino nurses were killed also in a road accident between the highland city of Taif, about four hours drive away from Jeddah, and the southern province of Al-Baha, said Consul General Ezzedin Tago.

Aranca was on board a Hilux double cab pickup with co-workers when the accident happened Sunday morning, said the consulate.Tago said the consulate was working on the repatriation of the victims.Aranca’s demise was followed by the death on Tuesday night of three Filipino workers of Mohammad Al-Mobil Group (MMG), an oil company operating in the oil fields of Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia.Supnet identified himself as a medical officer of the MMG’s Kayan project.Dr. Ferdinand C. Supnet, a medical officer of the MMG’s Kayan project, identified the fatalities as Freddie Doctolero, crane operator; Teresito Eloja, a rigging superintendent; and Jerry Pielago, a millwright (one maintains mills or mill machinery).

“The deceased MMG workers are presently in the morgue of Jubail General Hospital. We are now summoning the friends who know them for proper identification of the bodies," said Supnet in an e-mail to community members.He said another Filipino named Conrado Puno, a piping lead man, was under intensive care at King Abdul Aziz Naval Hospital in Jubail for unspecified injuries.

Also confined at the hospital were Indian citizen Afrajodin Khan and the Saudi taxi driver, Fahad Ahmad Shamrani, who suffered a fracture on the right leg and multiple head injuries. Supnet cited witnesses as saying the five MMG workers were on their way back to Jubail Camp 2 at around 8-9 p.m.

Tuesday when the taxi carrying them slammed into a trailer.A picture of the accident, apparently taken by rescuers, showed the car to be almost totally wrecked. It was still underneath the trailer truck.DFA spokesperson Bayani Mangibin said they were still verifying the identities of the victims and that the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia has yet to give them further details.
A report published by the online news site Arab NewsWednesday said the taxi was running too fast when it rammed into a crossing trailer coming out from a dirt road. - GMANews.TV