October 24, 2006
Updated 12:56:54 (Mla time)
HUNDREDS of Filipino workers were evacuated from an oil-drilling site in Kazakhstan after a riot that left dozens dead and injured, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
About 447 Filipinos were moved to a safer part of the Bechtel run compound in Tengiz, western Kazakhstan, after a violent clash between Kazakh and Turkish workers on Friday, foreign department spokesman Eduardo Malaya said.
The riot claimed many lives but no Filipino workers were involved, Malaya said. A report on a local newspaper said up to 40 people were killed and many more injured.
Malaya said reports reaching Manila indicated that the riot started in the workers canteen when "someone cut into the line" as workers were waiting to be served a meal.
The Filipinos are working in construction and technical jobs at the site.
Malaya said that as of Monday work had not resumed.
Some eight million Filipinos or about 10 percent of the population work abroad and the money they remit back home is a crucial source of foreign exchange for the Philippines.
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