13, not 14, OFWs died in Iraq hotel fire – embassy

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Philippine embassy in Iraq yesterday confirmed that 13 Filipino female workers were killed in the fire at a hotel in the capital of Kurdistan region.

Charge d’affaires Elmer Cato reported in his social media account that 13 Filipinos perished in the fire, not 14 as initially reported.

“There are 13, not 14, confirmed Filipino fatalities in the fire at the Capitol Hotel on Friday. Six other persons lost their lives in the tragedy,” Cato said.

He added the Kurdistan regional government has ruled out terrorism as the cause of the fire that razed the hotel in Erbil where the Filipinos were employed.

“Investigators said faulty wiring triggered the fire at the basement level of the hotel where our kababayans were working,” Cato said.

“The victims, all females, were suffocated by the smoke while trying to find their way out in the darkness,” he added.

Cato said they are working to identify the victims. “We are hoping that we could finish the difficult process by tomorrow (Feb. 8) so that we could immediately reunite them with their loved ones in the Philippines,” Cato said.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said they have yet to identify the 13 Filipinos who perished in the fire.

Jose said embassy personnel in Baghdad are currently at the site waiting for the results of the post-incident investigation to determine the identities of the fatalities.

Cato said the Philippine embassy was notified by the Kurdistan government on Saturday of the Filipino casualties.

Cato said about 1,500 Filipinos work in Kurdistan, mostly as hotel and restaurant personnel, engineers, nurses and household service workers.

The autonomous Kurdistan region is regarded as safe for Filipino workers as it is outside areas in Iraq under Alert Level 4.                – With Rainier Allan Ronda