TOTAL INJURED NOW 42

DFA: 11 more Pinoys reported hurt, another one missing in Beirut blast

Eleven more Filipinos were injured and another one was reported missing in this week's deadly explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

"By day's end yesterday, the number of injured stands at 42, an increase of eleven from the previous report. We were also alerted that another Filipino was reported missing, increasing the number to two. The number of Filipino fatalities, meanwhile, remains at four," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said.

The DFA said it expects the number of affected Filipinos in Beirut to rise due to the magnitude of the destruction that killed four household service workers from the Philippines.

Lebanon is home to around 33,000 Filipinos, 75% of whom are in the greater Beirut area.

A chartered plane on August 16 will bring back at least 230 Filipinos who sought repatriation assistance from the Philippine Embassy in Beirut. The same flight will also carry the remains of the Filipino victims, the DFA said.

The massive explosion in Beirut triggered by ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse for years, killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000 others.

Embassy officials said they are coordinating with members of the Filipino community in Beirut and assured them of assistance. —LBG, GMA News