Pinay nurse dies in Abu Dhabi car accident

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A Filipina nurse working at a home care facility in Abu Dhabi died in a car accident on Sunday evening, October 6.

The nurse was supposed to report for duty in the morning of that day but did not show up, said a Khaleej Times report of the tragedy.

The report cited the Philippine Embassy as saying that the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Abu Dhabi, headed by Labor Attache Teresa Olgado, is “working on the case” and “talking to the family.”
 
Ronald S. Gamiao, president of the Filipino Nurses Association in the Emirates (FNAE), said they have immediately taken appropriate steps to piece together all information they could gather regarding the road accident upon learning about it through the social media. 

He said the victim’s husband was “coordinating with the counterpart government office in the Philippines for the repatriation of his wife’s remains.”

“We have also received several messages from our members and from our fellow OFWs here in the UAE regarding this tragic accident. Being a Filipino nursing organization, it is part of our mission to help any nurses,” Gamiao told GMA News Online. 

He added: “We contacted the company (where the victim worked). They confirmed that she passed away due to an accident. They have also coordinated also with the Philippine Embassy and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in Abu Dhabi.  We likewise reached out to DMW to know whether they have been informed about the incident so that they could take immediate action. It was good to know that they were handling the matter already.”

“We have also sent our condolences to the husband of (of the victim),” Gamiao further said.

Meantime, the UAE chapter of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), in a statement to GMA News Online, expressed profound sadness by the nurse’s untimely death. The group also offered help to the bereaved family.

“We, from the Philippine Nurses Association - UAE Chapter, are deeply saddened by the loss of our fellow nurse based in Abu Dhabi. We (have also) already reached out to our Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Abu Dhabi regarding this matter. (T)he organization will be extending…help to the family. May our Lord bless and comfort her family during this time of grief,” the statement read.

The Khaleej Times report said the victim was 32 years old and working at Al Raiaa Home Health Care.

“She was able to finish her shift from morning until afternoon on Saturday, but that was our last contact with her,” the report quoted the company’s HR-in-charge as saying.

“She was supposed to be on duty on Sunday but when we tried calling her, she wasn't picking up. We reached out to her accommodation, friends, but we couldn't get hold of her,” the company officer added.

The HR official said the home care company was informed on Monday that the nurse died in a car accident on Sunday night. —KBK, GMA Integrated News