THREE of four Filipinos injured in an attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia remained in intensive care on Monday, with at least one in critical condition, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Monday.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the fourth injured Filipino had been discharged from the hospital but would continue to receive assistance.
“He had some problems in his lumbar area, so this will be continually monitored,” Cacdac said during a briefing on Oct. 12. “He had some trauma burns, but again, he is healthy enough to be released from hospital.” Two of the injured Filipinos worked at the airport, while the other two were passengers. They were two men and two women.
Cacdac said the government had reached out to the families of the injured Filipinos following the incident.
“We have also reached out per directive of the president to reach out to their families to help the families,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philippine officials were assisting Filipinos affected by flight cancellations and the temporary closure of Riyadh airport.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan reported that 30 people, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and dependents, were stranded in Riyadh.
Of the 30, 20 were staying in hotels sponsored by the DMW and OWWA, while seven had been picked up by relatives. Two seafarers in transit were staying at an airline-sponsored hotel, and one person had been picked up by an employer.
Another 94 OFWs whose flights to Riyadh were diverted to Jeddah were receiving assistance from the Philippine labor office there while awaiting the resumption of flights.
“Currently, they are billeted and they’re being assisted in Jeddah awaiting for the resumption of flights,” Cacdac said.
The government was providing temporary accommodation, food, transportation assistance and help with flight rebooking.
In Manila, 37 OFWs sought assistance following flight cancellations, including temporary accommodation and transportation to their homes in Metro Manila and the provinces. Three remained in hotels as of the briefing.
One other Filipino was reported stranded at Dammam International Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia after a flight cancellation. Officials said assistance was being provided.
Despite the attacks, the DMW said there is no deployment ban in place for Saudi Arabia as it monitors security developments and flight disruptions in the kingdom.
“At this stage, no deployment ban to Saudi,” Cacdac said on Monday.
Cacdac said the department was coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense to assess the political and security situation.
He noted that economic activity in Saudi Arabia continued despite the recent attacks and said that the government would remain in contact with its counterparts as developments unfolded.
Tested
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister acknowledged on Monday that the kingdom’s infrastructure and resilience had been tested, as he vowed a firm response following a wave of deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
The Houthi attacks over the weekend marked a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Saudi Arabia has long supported the internationally recognized government.
On Sunday, a strike hit Riyadh’s international airport, killing one person, just hours after another Houthi-claimed on the site killed 13 people and left hundreds of others wounded, forcing authorities to suspend operations there.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse and the world’s top oil exporter which has poured billions of dollars into its military, were the deadliest to hit the kingdom in a decade.
“For Saudi Arabia, these circumstances have tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people, and our resilience. They have also tested decisions made long before present crises, because resilience is built before crises begin,” Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
“Energy security can’t be taken for granted,” he told a high-profile conference in Riyadh. “The events of recent weeks are serious, our response must be equally serious.”
The airport was not the only one in the country to be targeted: the civil aviation authority also reported another on Dammam airport in the east.
The Saudi-led coalition said Monday it had also “intercepted and destroyed” a Houthi ballistic missile heading for the southern city of Khamis Mushait, home to a major military base.
