386 Filipinos arrived from Lebanon, DFA says

Published August 17, 2020 2:00pm Updated August 17, 2020 2:58pm A chartered flight from Lebanon carrying 386 Filipino workers, including the remains of those killed in last week's deadly blasts in Beirut, arrived in Manila Monday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. will receive the returning workers at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The group is the latest batch of Filipinos in the series of ongoing repatriations from Lebanon. The DFA said it has brought back 1,918 distressed workers to Manila in the past several months. The DFA said Qatar Airways flight QR 3150, which arrived at 1:45 p.m., carries the remains of eight Filipinos, four of whom were killed as a result of the recent explosions in Beirut Port Apart from the four Filipino fatalities, 47 workers from the Philippines were injured in the blasts triggered by ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse for years. The DFA said it will mount another chartered flight from Beirut for Filipinos who expressed their desire to be repatriated but could not be accommodated on this flight. Lebanon is home to around 33,000 Filipinos, 75% of whom are in the greater Beirut area. — Michaela Del Callar/RSJ, GMA News

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