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Body of OFW killed in Kish Island arrives


The remains of an overseas Filipino worker who died in the Kish Island of Iran finally arrived home in the Philippines on Monday. Radio dzBB reported that the remains of Mark Lloyd Carmen arrived aboard Gulf Air Flight 156 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport shortly after 1:00 a.m. Monday. Members of Carmen's family and representatives of militant migrants' group Migrante waited at the airport for the body, the report said. The Charge d' Affairs of the Philippine Embassy in Iran, Mariano Dumia, said Carmen's remains were originally scheduled to arrive on Friday. "The remains were originally scheduled to arrive on Friday, but since government offices are usually closed on Thursday and Friday, the remains (were) brought out from the mortuary on Saturday for checking and loading to the airplane. It was only then that the flight details were confirmed," he said in an article posted Sunday on the Department of Foreign Affairs website. Carmen died when a Sudani national allegedly stabbed him in the chest with a knife during a fistfight. Initial reports said the Sudani national reportedly challenged Carmen to a fistfight and slapped him several times when the Filipino refused to fight. When the OFW defended himself, the fight turned bloody when the Sudani's companion allegedly handed a knife. Dumia said the Embassy is bent on bringing the perpetrator to justice. The expenses for the repatriation of Carmen's remains were paid using the DFA's Assistance to Nationals fund. Meanwhile, the DFA said Consul General Rosario Lemque has sent a note verbale to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify reports that there are supposedly remains of other Filipinos in Kish Island. They have yet to receive a reply. "Kish Island is in the border region of Iran where access is difficult. It is where Filipinos waiting for work permits in Dubai usually stay," the DFA said. The DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Iran said they are ready to repatriate the remains if there are other deceased Filipinos in Kish, and provide assistance to their families. –VVP, GMANews.TV

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