3rd Pinoy dead in US oil rig accident confirmed

MANILA, Philippines - US authorities have recovered the body of a Filipino oil rig worker who went missing after an oil platform exploded and caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 16, the Philippine embassy in Washington said yesterday.

Ambassador Jose Cuisia said the body of 28-year-old fitter Jerome Malagapo from Danao City, Cebu was spotted about 20 miles from the platform he and eight other Filipinos were working on.

Mark Goldman, chief investigator of the Coroner’s Office of La Fourche Parish in Louisiana, had informed him that the remains belong to Malagapo, he added.

Cuisia said he had personally informed Malagapo’s wife Joanne, his father Francisco and other family members of the identification based on dental records from the Philippines.

“We console ourselves with the thought that Jerome has been found and will be reunited with his loved ones,” he said.

Cuisia said the embassy was informed of the recovery of Malagapo’s body as early as Monday but decided not to release any information until the remains have been identified.