2 injured Filipino oil workers off critical list – embassy

Commercial vessels spray water to extinguish a platform fire on board the West Delta 32 oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico off Grand Isle, Louisiana on November 16, 2012. AFP PHOTO / US COAST GUARD

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the Filipino oil workers seriously injured in an oil platform fire off Louisiana’s coast made it out of the critical list, while a third Filipino remained in good condition, the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. said Monday.

Citing reports from the Baton Rouge hospital where the three Filipinos had been treated for serious burns since the November 16 incident, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia welcomed the improved conditions of the Filipino oil workers.

“We welcome the good news that our two kababayans are no longer in the critical list,” Cuisia said.

“We will continue to pray that their condition will keep on improving in the coming days,” he added.

The embassy noted that based on the report by Consul General Herrera-Lim of the Philippine Consulate in Chicago, Renato Dominguez, a 52 year-old pipefitter; and another Filipino, whose family requested that the victim not be identified, were removed from the critical list, were already conscious and could move certain parts of their bodies.

It also said that the condition of 50-year old Wilberto Ilagan, a welder from Batangas, continued to improve and that he could now walk unaided.

It said that Herrera-Lim went to the Baton Rouge Hospital over the weekend to condole with the families of the Filipino casualties and to visit the three patients and their families.

The incident had claimed the lives of three Filipino workers — Ellroy Corporal, Avelino Tajonera, and Jerome Malagapo. Earlier reports had noted that there were nine Filipino workers and five non-Filipino employees working on the oil platform when it caught fire off the coast of Louisiana on November 16.

The embassy also noted that Eva Dominguez, wife of Renato Dominguez, had also welcomed the news of her husband’s recovery.

“When Rey gestured that he wanted a kiss, I knew the worst was over,” the 49-year-old accountant and mother of three from Bataan was quoted by the embassy as saying.

“I thank God for hearing the prayers of my family and the Filipino people,” she added.

Meanwhile, the embassy also noted that it had assured the victims and their families of continued support and assistance.