OFW in Saudi Arabia dies of fish poison

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in western Saudi Arabia has died after being punctured by a poisonous fish, an official of the Philippine Consulate General said. Vice Consul Lorenzo Jungco said 31-year old Abdurahman Lasota died on October 1 after he was poisoned from a fish puncture in Rais, a countryside about 300 kilometers from Jeddah. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Lasota’s wife, Elmina, narrated that after saying their morning prayers in Madinah (Medina) on September 30, her family and friends went to a beach in Rais along the Red Sea. On the night of October 1, her husband went fishing and got punctured by a fish and he fell ill. Lasota was taken to a hospital nearby but doctors were unable to save him, Elmina said. "Sabi ng mga doktor, kumalat na raw ang lason sa kanyang katawan (They said the poison had already spread all over his body)," she said. Jungco said the consulate helped facilitate the burial of Lasota in Madinah, as requested by the family. “Nagpapasalamat ako sa konsulado lalo na kina Vice Consul Jungco at sa mga kasama nya na sa kabila nang malayo naming kinaroroonan ay agad nila akong nabigyan nang aking mga pinakisuyo para maipalibing ko ang aking mister (I am thankful to the consulate, especially to Vice Consul Jungco and to his companions because even if our place is too far away, they still helped my husband be buried), Lasota’s wife said in her letter to the consulate. Lasota has been working for eight years in Saudi Arabia as part of a maintenance crew aboard a ship in Madinah.- Ronaldo Z. Concha and Kimberly Jane Tan, GMANews.TV