3 Pinoy workers killed in Seoul fire

Three overseas Filipino workers were killed on Thursday when a fire razed the building in South Korea where they were living, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Quoting the Philippine embassy in Seoul, the DFA said the fire started around 3 a.m. (South Korean time) and razed the building in Tangju City, Kyonggi-do, South Korea.

Philippine embassy chargé d’affaires Abraham Estavillo said the remains of Ricardo "MG Rimas" Sangco Sr. of Alfonso, Cavite; MacArthur "MG Art" Ramirez of Sta. Rosa, Laguna; and Joey de la Cuesta, whose address has yet to be determined, were dug out from the debris around 3 p.m.

Two other Filipinos living in the same building, Epifanio La Paz and Rodolfo Oxcineo, survived, he added.

The embassy said Sangco, Ramirez, Dela Cuesta, La Paz and Oxcineo worked as laborers for the Busong Yongshik Co. at Kumcheon Danji in Tangju City.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the embassy and the DFA’s Office of Migrant Workers’ Affairs have informed the families of Sangco, Ramirez, and Dela Cuesta about their deaths.

The embassy is facilitating documentation for the speedy repatriation of their remains and moving to secure the benefits due them under South Korean law. — Pia Lee-Brago