(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the deaths of two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in a fire accident in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, May 20, expressing the department’s sympathies to their families.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday, May 21, identified the two fatalities as Jessie Alata Pacetes and Reynaldo Barroga Castro, heavy equipment drivers and operators.
They were killed at a fire in the construction site for road work in Najran, Saudi Arabia.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of our two kababayan who lost their lives in the tragedy,” Cayetano said shortly after he was informed of the incident.
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.
The consulate officials will also secure whatever benefits that are due the OFWs and will ascertain from local authorities the real cause of the fire accident.
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.