OFW hurt in UAE fire, dead wife to be repatriated –DMW

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Thursday it is preparing to bring to the Philippines the remains of the Filipina who was killed in a fire in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week, along with her husband who was severely hurt in the incident. 

DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said that the husband wants to immediately recover and be discharged from the hospital to be able to be with his wife when her remains are brought back to the Philippines. 

“‘Yung husband, nakausap ko siya kahapon. Initially, [he was] critical, nasa ICU, but he is out of hospital,” Cacdac said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview.

(I talked to the husband yesterday. Initially, he was in a critical condition and was in the ICU, but he is now out of hospital.) 

“In fact, ang isa sa mga motivational factors doon ay gusto niyang maiuwi mismo ang kanyang asawa. In a manner of speaking, mismong asawa rin niya na nasawi ang naghimok sa kanyang gumaling. So, he is is safe and sound also,” he added. 

(In fact, one of his motivational factors is that he wants to bring his wife home himself. In a manner of speaking, it was his dead wife who also encouraged him to recover. He is now safe and sound.) 

Cacdac said that the husband, who is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), is currently staying at the place of a friend while awaiting repatriation. 

The Filipina was among the five fatalities in the fire that hit a residential building in Sharjah. 

Cacdac said the couple suffered from severe smoke inhalation, but the actual cause of death of the Filipina is still being determined. 

“We’re also interested in finding out ‘yung resulta ng Sharjah authorities dito sa kanilang imbestigasyon. Kasi potentially, baka may legal implications. Kung meron mang nangyari ditong hindi kanais-nais, then we stand ready,” he added.

(We’re also interested in finding out the results of the investigation of the Sharjah authorities. Because potentially, there might be legal implications. If there was any untoward incident, then we stand ready.) 

A total of 13 Filipinos were affected by the UAE fire, and 11 (9 adults, 2 children) of them were evacuated to a hotel also in Sharjah. 

Aside from providing them with financial assistance, Cacdac said that they are also being offered psychosocial support. —LDF, GMA Integrated News