PH embassy to help Riyadh blast victims

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine embassy will help the Filipino victims of the truck explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in getting the financial assistance they need, the Palace said Friday, November 2.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte also said the government also extends its condolences to the family of the lone Filipino fatality so far, driver Florentino Santiago. 

“Binabantayan po ‘yan ng ating embahada at sinisigurado po ng ating mga katrabaho doon na all the necessary assistance is being given to them by their employers,” Valte said in an interview aired on the government-run Radyo ng Bayan. (Our embassy is monitoring this and ensuring that all the necessary assistance is being given by their employers to them.)

Valte said in cases like this, the overseas employment contracts state that the employers should shoulder the victims’ medical expenses. 

In the case of Santiago, the embassy is now coordinating with his employers and family to repatriate his remains, according to Valte. 

The truck explosion last Thursday, November 1, killed 21 others aside from Santiago. It also injured around 111.

The accident took place on a main road in Riyadh, the capital, after a truck veered into a bridge pylon. This caused a gas leak that spread out and then burst into flames, destroying nearby cars and a building, officials told AFP.

A bus that had been gutted by the fire stood idle on the flyover, with witnesses saying that the vehicle had been transporting workers. Another truck fell off the bridge due to the impact of the explosion, the witnesses said. – Rappler.com, with reports from Agence France-Presse