11 Pinoys injured in Riyadh truck explosion

MANILA, Philippines - Eleven Filipinos were injured in a fuel truck blast that killed 22 people and caused the collapse of a building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia yesterday, the Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia said.

Eight of the unnamed injured Filipinos were being treated at a hospital in Riyadh while three had been discharged. The truck, which was carrying flammable liquids, crashed into a concrete flyover before exploding and destroying an industrial building nearby, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Department ruled out terrorism in the explosion.

Citing a report from the Philippine embassy in Riyadh, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said an unspecified number of Filipinos suffered slight injuries.

“The Filipinos have been admitted to the National Guard hospital for injuries caused by fuel truck explosion in Riyadh,” Hernandez said in a text message to The STAR.

“Embassy teams are going to other hospitals to check,” he said.

“Some residents in Riyadh heard the sound of the blast. However, we would like to assure you that this was an accidental case and had no links with any terrorist act,” Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Ezzedin Tago said, quoting a statement from Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Department.

In an abs-cbnnews report, Jojo Custodio, an employee of Zahid Tractor in the collapsed building, said he heard and felt the explosion even if he was three kilometers away.

He immediately rushed to his office to check on his relatives who worked in the area. Upon arriving at Zahid, he said he saw several injured co-workers, including some Filipinos, the abs-cbnnews report said.