HATAW! D'yaryo ng Bayan hatawtabloid.com
NANGHILAKBOT ang Filipino community sa insidente ng sumalpok na Hi-Ace van sa isang truck, ikinamatay ng pito katao na may limang Filipino kabilang ang isang sanggol, nitong Linggo ng umaga, 19 Hunyo, sa timog ng Picton, New Zealand.
Sa ulat, sinabing ang pamilya ay binubuo ng tatlong henerasyon ng pamilyang Filipino-New Zealand na nakabase sa Auckland, may mga kaanak sa Filipinas at sa Taiwan.
Pauwi na ang pamilya mula sa pakikipaglibing nitong Linggo ng umaga nang sumalpok ang Hi-Ace van sa truck.
Kinilala ng pulisya ang mga biktima na sina Paul Brown at ang asawang si Diseree Brown, anmg kanilang anak na si Mark. Ang kapatid ni Diseree na si Divine Dolar, at ang anak nitong ababe na si Flordeliza Dolar, ayon sa ulat ng Stuff news portal.
Pauwi sa North Island ang pamilya mula sa pakikipaglibing sa Gore, nang maganap ang insidente dakong 7:30 am. Makikita sa mga larawan na halos wasak na ang Toyota Hi-Ace dahil sa lakas ng impact.
Ang mga nakaligtas ay dinala sa Wellington Hospital. Kapwa nasa seryosong kalagayan ang dalawa, ngunit ang isa ay nakalampas na sa kritikal na kondisyon.
Ayon sa kaibigan ng pamilya na kinilalang si alyas Bill, sa kanila namalagi noong Sabado ng gabi ang buong pamilya.
“They spent some of their last hours on Earth with me on Saturday night, Sunday morning,” malungkot na pahayag ni Bill.
“This was a vibrant family – my friend was a high school teacher … his wife started an online business and he was really proud of her … They had four boys and girls … One of the boys had married a young Taiwanese lady and it was their baby that died.
“I was really taken with this young woman, she was so nice and it really hits home at my heart that she’s gone and the baby’s gone. Her husband survived … he’s going to wake up and find that he’s now alone. This is really a terrible and shocking news for the community.”
Ayon kay Romy Udanga, isang Auckland Filipino community leader, nabigla siya at nalungkot nang malaman na ang mga namatay ay miyembro ng kanilang komunidad.
Aniya, ang iba pang miyembro ng community sa Wellington ay nakahndang tumulong sa dalawang survivor – isang lalaki at isang teenager – na nasa Wellington Hospital.
“This is really a terrible and shocking news for the community, and all our thoughts are with the families and those affected,” ani Udanga.
Ayon sa isang Matilde Figuracion, isang Filipino na naninirahan sa Wellington, kasabay niya sana sa ferry ang mga biktima.
“The crash happened just minutes before us, and the roads were closed when we reached the Picton area. I was in shock when I heard what happened,” ani Figuracion.
“When I heard they are Filipino, I told the nurses in Wellington Hospital that I am here if they needed any help.”
Ayon kay Bill, halos apat na taon niyang hindi nakita ang kaibigang si Paul. Mabilis na nagpahinga ang pamilya sa kanyang bahay sa Rolleston, malapit sa Christchurch, bago umalis dakong 2:30 am patungong hilaga para bumiyahe sa ferry mula Picton patungong Wellington.
“Some slept – the guy that was driving… had a couple of hours’ sleep. One of the lads played a computer game and didn’t bother to sleep, but all the rest except for my friend snoozed a bit,” ani Bill.
“I’d suggested, why don’t you stay and have more sleep, and my friend said, ‘No, we’ll be okay, we’ll just slowly make our way up to Picton and get maybe have a couple of hours sleep when we get there while we wait for the ferry’.
“So they left and I went to bed and never thought any more about it. They were at my place for over four hours so they did actually have quite a break.
“I can still feel his hand in mine when we shook hands when he left … the chair he sat in I’ve touched a few times this morning,” ani Bill. “I really just wanted to tell people that these were real folks, it’s going to be a huge shock.”
