SINGAPORE – One sister is dead while another has been hospitalised.

The two siblings were among the six Filipino victims in the Lucky Plaza accident on Sunday (Dec 29) which also killed a second woman. All six were domestic helpers and close friends.

The two who died were aged 41 and 50, while the other four victims – who are now at Tan Tock Seng Hospital – are aged 37 to 56.

The Straits Times understands that the dead women are Abigail Danao Leste and Arlyn Picar Nucos.

“The six victims are quite close. They meet together quite often during the weekends, and did not expect something unfortunate to happen,” Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, the chairman of the Centre for Domestic Employees, told reporters on Monday. Two of the injured who are warded are also relatives, he added. 

The two women who died had been working in Singapore for more than 20 years, while some of the injured have been here for at least 10 years.

“They are quite senior workers and they have been contributing to our families and supporting them all the while,” Mr Yeo said.

“We definitely want to do our best to see what more we can assist them with.”

Mr Yeo also said that the centre is in the process of contacting the women’s employers, and that the employer of one of the domestic helpers who died is currently on holiday.

The daughter of one of the women who died  has confirmed that she will travel to Singapore.

“Some of (the women’s family members) do not have travel documents, so we are trying to contact them to do all that is necessary,” Mr Yeo said.

The daughter who is travelling here has a passport so the Centre for Domestic Employees is working with the Philippine embassy to facilitate her travel. “What we need is to support her financially to (travel here),” Mr Yeo said.

Two of the victims are from the Cagayan province in the Philippines while another is from La Union province.

Cagayan is located in the north-east region of Luzon Island while La Union lies in the north-western region of the Island.

The Philippine embassy on Monday expressed its condolences to the families of the two women who died.

A spokesman for the embassy said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stands ready to provide all assistance needed for the victims. The DFA, through the embassy, is in touch with authorities for the repatriation of the remains of the Filipino casualties.”

On Sunday, police said they were alerted at 4.58pm to an accident involving a car and six women along the Orchard Road shopping strip.

The car crashed through a pavement railing in Nutmeg Road and plunged several metres, before landing on the exit lane of the Lucky Plaza carpark. It is understood the victims were flung from the pavement down to the carpark lane as the car fell.

A 64-year-old male driver, whose black Honda sported private-hire licence decals, was arrested at the scene for dangerous driving causing death.

The Straits Times understands the driver was attempting a U-turn before crashing into the railing.

The driver was a partner with private-hire operator Grab.

When contacted, a spokesman for Grab said: “We are deeply saddened to hear about the accident and are assisting the authorities in the investigation.”

Asked if the driver had just dropped off a passenger, or was on his way to pick one up, Grab declined to answer, saying that the police are investigating the case.

In an interview with a Philippine radio station, Consul-General Adrian Candolada, from the Philippine embassy, described the incident as a “freak accident”.

Mr Yeo also urged members of the public to respect the privacy of the women who died as well as that of the families. “Please do not circulate any photos or videos via social media, and do not speculate further. Please allow investigations to run its due course,” he added.

Police are currently investigating the case.

The Lucky Plaza mall is popular with foreign workers, especially Filipino domestic workers.

Additional reporting by Raul Capunpon Dancel and Malavika Menon

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