DFA: 3 Pinoys killed, 3 others hurt in Dubai fire

Three Filipinos were killed when a fire razed their rented apartment in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday. In a statement posted on its website, the DFA said a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai showed that the fire hit a rented apartment in Satwa, Dubai last November 6. "The three fatalities were asleep in one room together with two of the survivors, who managed to escape through the window," the DFA said, citing a report from Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano. Three other Filipinos suffered injuries, the DFA statement said. Two suffered minor injuries, while the third sustained second-degree burns in the face, back, arms and four toes and is now confined at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of Al Rashid, it said. It added that the Filipinos, whose names were withheld until their next of kin are informed, were asleep when the fire started. "When they woke up, the apartment's receiving room and kitchen were all in flames and no exit can be used," it said. The DFA said the Philippine Consulate is coordinating with the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) and with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the repatriation of the victims' remains and extension of other assistance. It is also locating the next of kin to inform them of the incident. — RSJ, GMANews.TV