14 Filipinos dead in a car crash in Saudi Arabia

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Fourteen Filipinos in Saudi Arabia were killed in a vehicle collision on Monday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Wednesday.

The vehicle collision was between a delivery truck and a coaster van. The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who were killed in the accident were traveling in a coaster van on their way to their accommodation site in the Eastern Region province of Al-Ahsa.

The Philippine Embassy have gotten the name of the company the victims worked for but it still remains undisclosed. The names of the victims have also not been provided as the information about the accident received by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh were vague.

“Our embassy in Riyadh is now in contact with the employer of the OFWs killed in the accident,” DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Charles Jose was quoted as saying in an Inquirer.net report.

“Those injured are still at the intensive care unit of a hospital,” Jose added.

Migrante, an organization that upholds the rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos, has sent condolences to the families of the victims.

“We are still coordinating with our chapters in Saudi Arabia to get complete information on our kababayans. We demand immediate action and assistance from the government,” said  Mic Catuira, Deputy Secretary-General of Migrante International, in the same report.

The families of the victims should benefits like medical assistance, repatriation costs, burial and death benefits and scholarships for the children of the victims from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), said Catuira.