DFA Condoles with Kin of 2 OFWs Who Perished in Saudi Arabia Fire

21 May 2018 — The Department of Foreign Affairs tonight expressed its sympathies to the families of two overseas Filipino workers who perished in a fire that struck their construction site in Saudi Arabia early Sunday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of our two kababayan who lost their lives in the tragedy,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said shortly after he was informed of the incident.

The two fatalities were identified as Jessie Alata Pacetes and Reynaldo Barroga Castro, both heavy equipment drivers and operators employed by a major Saudi construction company that was working on a road project in Najran.

Secretary Cayetano said a team from the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah is now in Najran to discuss with the employer the arrangements for the immediate repatriation of the remains of the victims and secure whatever benefits that are due them as well as to ascertain from local authorities the real cause of the fire.

Consul General Edgar Badajos said the two victims died in their sleeping quarters at their jobsite located some 60 kilometers from Najran.  The blaze was believed to have been caused by faulty electrical wiring. END