Oman road crash claims life of Pinoy tailor

The Philippine embassy in Muscat, Oman advised Filipinos there to be extra careful especially when crossing the roads due to the high number of vehicular crashes resulting to injuries and deaths. The advisory came following the death of contract worker Edgardo Borja, 52, on July 24. Balitang Middle East shows picture of Pinoy tailor Edgardo Borja who was killed in Oman road crash.
Borja, of Camarines Sur, died during a road crash. He had worked as a tailor in Oman for almost 20 years, ABS-CBN's Balitang Middle East reported. According to Francis Fama, Borja called him up before the accident to inform him that he was at Al Hail and would sleep over at a friends house. Noong gabing 'yun hindi siya pumunta dito. Sumama kay Lando pumunta ng Al Hail doon siya natulog. Siguro doon nag-inuman kasi mahilig sa inom 'yun, said Fama. In the middle of the coversation, the line was cut off, Fama said. He believes that Borja was hit by a car while talking on the phone. Siguro naglalakad siya kasi itong kasama ko nga tinawagan niya, ang sabi niya, 'Neng nagkape ka na?' Ang sabi naman ng isa hindi pa ang sabi niya, 'Neng antayin mo ako dadalhin kita ng faruta.' 'Yun ang sabi niya. 'Yun lang daw hindi naman sila nagkapaalaman o kung ano. Baka hawak niya ang telepono na tumatawid, said Fama. The man who was driving the vehicle that hit Borja rushed hom to a hospital but the Filipino did not make it.
Fama, meanwhile, said they noticed that some things were unusual about Borja before the accident. Natutulog siya maghapon. Itong kasama ko sa bahay sabi nila hindi 'yan nakapanahi tulog ng tulog. Ang sabi ko naman, baka lasing, ngayon nung magising daw ito nagkwento, nakarinig daw siya ng dalawang putok. Ang sabi naman ng kaibigan kong Muslim, na kapag nakarinig daw ng mga putok ano daw 'yun, senyales daw ng pagyao, said Fama. Fama is coordinating with officials of the Philippine embassy for Borjas immediate repatriation since the victim has no known relatives. Meanwhile, a Web site has said that Oman has one of the highest accident rates in the world. According to the www.car-accidents.com , there are around 10,000 car crashes every year resulting in 680 deaths leaving thousands more injured in Oman. Omans road traffic death rate is 28 per 100,000 population which is far higher than the global average of 19 killed per 100,000, the Web site said. With Rowen Soldevilla, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau