SEVERAL families of Filipino victims in the tragic car-ramming incident at a Filipino festival in Vancouver, Canada, have requested repatriation, according to the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver. Consul General Gina Jamoralin confirmed the requests in an interview on ANC, stating that families are filling out necessary forms to initiate the process.
“Now that information is seeping through to the families, some of them have reached out to us, and in fact some of them requested for repatriation but they have to fill up a form. There is a process,” she said. Repatriation of remains is also being facilitated.
While the Vancouver Police Department has yet to officially confirm the nationalities of all 11 fatalities – eight women, two men, and a five-year-old girl – Consul General Jamoralin acknowledged that other nationalities were present at the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party. “We can’t really say they are all Filipinos. There were other nationalities attending the festival,” she added.
Seven of the injured are reported to be in critical condition, while three are in serious condition. The joyous celebration honoring Datu Lapu-Lapu, the Filipino chieftain who defeated Magellan’s forces in 1521, tragically ended in death and devastation when a speeding SUV drove into the crowd last Saturday.
