CBCP exec among Pinoys hurt in Egypt bus crash

MANILA, Philippines — Thirteen Filipino pilgrims to the Holy Land – including a ranking official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) – were hurt in a bus crash on Tuesday in Sinai, Egypt, which also killed the American husband of one of the Filipinos.

The injured, including CBCP secretary general Fr. Marvin Mejia, were rushed to the Sharm El Sheikh International and South Sinai Hospital for various injuries, Caloocan Bishop Pablo David said in a Facebook post.

“Fr. Marvin Mejia joined a group on a pilgrimage tour in the Holy Land/Egypt. The bus they were riding in met an accident, and he suffered serious injuries. One of the passengers died, and a number were injured,” David said.

David said he received the information from CBCP president Archbishop Romulo Valles.

David said that Fr. Jan Limchua of the Apostolic Nunciature in Cairo, Egypt, has extended assistance to Meija and to the rest of the injured in the group.

Quoting a message from Limchua, David said Mejia is already “fine and out of danger” and has been discharged from the hospital.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the injured are now apparently out of danger.

“The extent of the injuries suffered by the Filipinos range from bruises to broken bones, and most of them have been discharged from the hospital in Sharm-el-Sheik. Many of them will be returning to the Philippines in the next few days,” Assistant Foreign Affairs Secretary Eduardo Meñez said yesterday.

He confirmed Mejia had also been discharged from the hospital. He said the CBCP official “is one of the 23 Filipinos plus some Filipino-American tourists who were in a bus accident near St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai on their way to the border crossing into Israel.”

“The Philippine embassy and the Filipino community in the area rendered assistance to the group in coordination with the travel agencies involved. The lone fatality was the American husband of one of the Fil-Am ladies. The US embassy is assisting in that regard,” he added.

Quoting a doctor who was part of the pilgrimage, ABS-CBN said 13 pilgrims, including 11 fellow physicians, were injured in the mishap Tuesday night.

They were 15 in all and are from Davao City. They left on Oct. 19 and are scheduled to fly back on Oct. 31.

The doctor said she stayed behind in their hotel with her 82-year-old mother who was not feeling well at the time.

It is not clear at which point the American fatality and his Filipino-American wife and companions joined the pilgrims from Davao.