3 Filipinos killed, 1 hurt in KSA road accident

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino rigging superintendent and two other compatriots were killed when an overspeeding taxicab slammed into a trailer truck in eastern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night, reports from the Filipino community there said Wednesday. Dr. Ferdinand C. Supnet said the four Pinoys were all working with Mohammad Al-Mobil Group (MMG), an oil company operating in the oil fields of Jubail. Supnet identified himself as a medical officer of the MMG’s Kayan project. In a report e-mailed to other members of the Filipino community in Saudi Arabia, Supnet dentified the fatalities as Freddie Doctolero, crane operator; Teresito Eloja, a rigging superintendent; and Jerry Pielago, a millwright (one maintains mills or mill machinery). “The deceased MMG workers are presently in the morgue of Jubail General Hospital. We are now summoning the friends who know them for proper identification of the bodies," said Supnet in his report. He said another Filipino named Conrado Puno, a piping lead man, was under intensive care at King Abdul Aziz Naval Hospital in Jubail for unspecified injuries. Also confined at the hospital were Indian citizen Afrajodin Khan and the Saudi taxi driver, Fahad Ahmad Shamrani, who suffered a fracture on the right leg and multiple head injuries. Supnet cited witnesses as saying the five MMG workers were on their way back to Jubail Camp 2 at around 8-9 p.m. Tuesday when the taxi carrying them slammed into a trailer. A picture of the accident, apparently taken by rescuers, showed the car to be almost totally wrecked. It was still underneath the trailer truck. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila confirmed the road accident, but could give no details. DFA spokesperson Bayani Mangibin said they were still verifying the identities of the victims and that the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia has yet to give them further details. A report published by the online news site Arab News Wednesday said the taxi was running too fast when it rammed into a crossing trailer coming out from a dirt road. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV