An Escape from Sex Slavery

Abigail Pesta-The Daily Beast

Nov 26, 2012 1:00 AM EST

Enslaved as a child, a young woman gives voice to the horrors of human trafficking with a breakthrough radio show.

She remembers a home that looked fancy on the outside but ominous on the inside, a dark maze of bare chambers. She remembers the parade of men, one after the other, day by day, forcing her to have sex. She remembers contemplating death. She wasn’t yet 10 years old.

A former sex slave finds solace at a center run by the Somaly Mam Foundation. 

(Jesse Pesta)

Her name is Sreypich Loch, and she was a slave in a Cambodian brothel. If she refused sex, she says, she would be beaten, shocked with an electric cord, denied food and water. “What else could I do?” she asks.

Loch, now around 20 years old, managed to escape that world and works today to rescue other girls. She helps grab them out of brothels, and she hosts a radio show in Phnom Penh, giving the girls a forum for their stories. It’s a groundbreaking effort for a young woman and former sex slave in this male-dominated society.

She hopes that by talking about her past, she will help people understand that slavery is alive and well. When people “hear the voice of the survivor,” she says on a recent visit to New York City, “we can help others.” She traveled to the U.S. with the group that helped save her, the Somaly Mam Foundation, named for another survivor of the sex trade in Cambodia.

Loch’s story may sound extreme, but it is not some isolated incident. An estimated 27 million people are victims of slavery around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. The buying and selling of humans is a multibillion-dollar global business, ensnaring vulnerable people who are often kidnapped or tricked into the trade.

Loch’s nightmare began when she was a child in Phnom Penh. Her stepfather raped her, she says, when she was just a girl; she thinks she was around 7 years old. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone. She would be raped again that year, by a stranger who snatched her from the street. He made the same threat, she says: tell anyone and die.

She stayed silent. “I was young. I was scared,” she says, speaking softly. “In Cambodia, many fathers rape their daughters; brothers rape their sisters.” Consistently ranked as one of the poorest and most corrupt nations in the world, Cambodia is still reeling from the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, which massacred as many as 2 million people in the 1970s. Intellectuals and city dwellers were targeted and tortured in an attempt to create a completely agrarian society. Families were ripped apart.

One day Loch worked up the nerve to tell her mother about the rapes. She’s not sure how much time had passed since the assaults, she says, as she was just a child and memories fade. But she has a vivid memory of her mother’s response. “She hit me,” Loch says. “She didn’t believe me. I think: she does not love me.”

Loch ran away from home, having lost faith in her family, she says. She remembers a heavy rainfall and the feeling of not knowing where to go. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I cried and cried,” she says. And then she was found by a gang of men. “Five men raped me on the street,” she says. “I wanted to die.”

That might have indeed been her fate if a woman hadn’t come along, offering to help. The woman took Loch to her home—or so Loch thought. The house turned out to be a brothel. She was locked in a basement room and forced to “sleep with many, many men every day,” she says. “I couldn’t see light, just dark.”

Her eyes fill with water at the thought of it. Then she pauses, closes her eyes for a moment, and continues. “If I said no, pimp hit me,” she says. “I tell pimp, please kill me.” Then she adds, “I am people. I am not an animal. How could they do me that way?”

Sreypich Loch (right) with her rescuer, Somaly Mam, on a visit to New York City. (Courtesy of the Somaly Mam Foundation)

Loch’s story mirrors that of many rescued Cambodian girls, who report being drugged, locked in coffins, whipped, even covered with biting insects in order to make them submit to sex. While their stories can be difficult to verify independently, the U.S. State Department confirms that the enslavement of girls in Cambodia is pervasive. “The sale of virgin girls continues to be a serious problem in Cambodia,” the State Department said in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report released this summer. “Cambodian men form the largest source of demand for child prostitution, though a significant number of men from the United States and Europe, as well as other Asian countries, travel to Cambodia to engage in child sex tourism.” Among local men, demand is often fueled by myths that sex with a virgin brings luck or good health.

Fire Kills 112 workers making clothes for US Brands

"are these workers slaves?" 

" When a man, desperate for work, finds himself in a factory or on a fishing boat or in a field, working, toiling, for little or no pay, -- that is slavery.  "  Pres. Barack Obama

• ABC News 

The 100-plus workers who died in a fire late Saturday at a high-rise garment factory in Bangladesh were working overtime making clothes for major American retailers, including Wal-Mart, according to workers' rights groups.

Officials in Bangladesh said the flames at the Tazreen Fashions factory outside Dhaka spread rapidly on the ground floor, trapping those on the higher floors of the nine-story building. There were no exterior fire escapes, according to officials, and many died after jumping from upper floors to escape the flames.

As firemen continued to remove bodies Sunday, officials said at least 112 people had died but that the number of fatalities could go higher.

The Tazreen fire is the latest in a series of deadly blazes at garment factories in Bangladesh, where more than 700 workers, many making clothes for U.S. consumers, have died in factory fires in the past five years. As previously reported by ABC News, Bangladesh has some of the cheapest labor in the world and some of the most deplorable working conditions. 

READ the original ABC News report.
 
"The industry and parent brands in the U.S. have been warned again and again about the extreme danger to workers in Bangladesh and they have not taken action," said Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, an American group working to improve conditions at factories abroad that make clothes for U.S. companies. Nova said the fire was the most deadly in the history of the Bangladesh apparel industry, and "one of the worst in any country."

WATCH the 'Nightline' report on deadly factories.
 

Workers' activists went into the burned-out remains today to document which major retailers were using the Tazreen factory.

They say they found labels for Faded Glory, a Wal-Mart private label, along with labels they said traced back to Sears and a clothing company owned by music impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs.
"There's no question that Wal-Mart and the other customers at this factory bear some blame for what happened in this factory," Nova said.
Nova also said that Wal-Mart "knew exactly what's going on at these facilities. They have staff on site in Bangladesh."

Wal-Mart actually warned of dangerous conditions at the Tazreen factory last year, in a letter posted online by the factory owner.

Wal-Mart told ABC News that the company has not yet been able to confirm that it was still making clothes at the factory.

In a statement, Wal-Mart told ABC News, "Our thoughts are with the families of the victims of this tragedy. ... [F]ire safety is a critically important area of Wal-Mart's factory audit program and we have been working across the apparel industry to improve fire safety education and training in Bangladesh.

"As part of this effort, we partnered with several independent organizations to develop and roll out fire safety training tools for factory management and workers. Continued engagement is critical to ensure that reliable, proactive measures are in place to reduce the chance of factory fires. "

Spokespeople for Combs and Sears did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gender - Based Violence

"Excerpt from Half the Sky"

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/issues/gender-based-violence

Gender-based violence is both persistent and widespread, and ranks as top public health crisis for women in the world today.  In fact, women aged 15 through 45 are more likely to be maimed or die from male violence than from cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.
This violence can take many different forms, and is constantly mutating into new forms, be it acid attacks, bride burnings, rape or domestic violence. Often this violence is perpetrated by those closest to a woman. Surveys suggest that about one-third of all women globally face beatings in the home. Another major study found that in most countries between 30 and 60 percent of women had experienced physical or sexual violence by a husband or a boyfriend. The figures for female murder by male partners are also astounding: Up to 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by their male partners, according to the World Health Organization.
In some countries, female genital mutilation is also a growing concern. Over 135 million girls and women have undergone genital mutilation and 2 million more girls are at risk each year. “Honor” killings, in which a woman’s relative murders her for disgracing the family, can also be a concern in parts of the world. They too are on the rise.

Dominic Nahr / Magnum

Many governments across the globe continue to turn a blind eye to this violence. To date, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not outlawed and more than 2.6 billion live in countries where rape within marriage is not considered a crime. Without legal retribution, assailants rarely face consequences for their actions and the victims are less likely to report the abuse. In some cases, women are concerned that they will be the ones punished if they report the violence. Other times rape and sexual assault are so stigmatized that the victim stays silent even if there are laws in place.
Rape and these other abuses often work to keep women down, and there can be enormous economic, social and health consequences. Women who have experienced such violence can suffer isolation and depression and have increased drug and alcohol dependency or even poor reproductive health. They may become unable to work or care for their families.
While laws are important to help combat this violence, the main solution is to change the way people think. Two things lie behind gender-based violence: sexism and misogyny. And it’s not just the men: women too adhere to discriminatory social customs, and frequently are the ones to transmit to the next generation.  For instance, women are often the managers of brothels in poor countries or the ones who demand that their daughters’ genitals are cut.
Since these attitudes are embedded in culture, they will only change with education and local leadership. But outsiders can play a role in creating change too, in part by shining a spotlight on these harmful and sexist attitudes and traditions. By not speaking out we too are helping to quietly sanction this violence against women.

Another tragic plight of an OFW from Taiwan read on....

Pinay in Taiwan jumps from building to escape rape, murder attempt

 Filipina caregiver jump from the window of a second floor apartment to escape rape and attempted murder by her employer.

Eden Abarientos, a 43-year-old caregiver from Taiwan, suffered broken bones and severe injuries after she jumped from her employer's window at 1:00 in the morning of September 9.
Abarientos arrived in Taiwan last August 31. When she arrived, she immediately experienced sexual harassment from her employer Chang Chiung-Liang.
In her sworn affidavit submitted to Migrante International, said that her employer Abarientos touched her breasts and private parts while she worked in the kitchen. "Every day do please me, almost every hour. My boss told me to go to her room but I do not agree. Said give me money, I said I do not like. "
Abarientos lasted for a week in her employer's house before she she decided to escape because I heard her talking about killing her employer. "I heard that they kill me and put in plastic."
"On the night of September 8, I cooked dinner, I last ate. They furnished the drugs' those foods do. Nanunuyo I felt my mouth, no saliva. I did, I drink sugar dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Then I jump, "she said.
She was found by the police at 6:00 in the morning. Taiwanese police brought her to the hospital. It was also called the police that her agency in Taiwan.
A Certain Mrs. Chiu, representative of her agency, went to the hospital and promised to pay for her hospital bills. "I was told to sign a statement that I have no claim on the fact that my employer after returning home to the Philippines and said do not kill me tomorrow. A Chinese, a Filipina child and your boss has faced agency and MECO. "The MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) is the de facto Philippine embassy in Taiwan.
Abarientos said that she got no help from the embassy and from OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) officials in Taiwan. Her week's worth of work was unpaid.
"Without assistance from OWWA or DFA. The agency paid for my ticket. My wife is after me. Until I homing it does not help our government. "Abarientos was repatriated last October 5.
According to Gina Esguerra, Migrante International secretary-general, Abarientos' case is one of the many cases of violence against women migrant workers.
"On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Children, we will call for justice for Abarientos and others like her who were victimized not only by perpetrators but also by government neglect and the circumstances that forced them to vulnerability and injustice, "Esguerra said.
She added the violence against women migrant workers and children will be one of the highlights in the witness testimonies for the upcoming International Migrants' Tribunal.
The International Migrants' Tribunal will be held on November 28-29 at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. It is organized by the International League of Peoples 'Struggles (ILPS), International Migrants' Alliance (IMA) and the International Women's Alliance (IWA).
The Tribunal will put on trial the Global Forum on Migrantion and Development (GFMD) as it is being facilitated by sending and receiving countries, including the Philippines. It is expected to be attended by judges and witnesses from different parts of the world.
One of the judges will be renowned theater actress and women's rights advocate Monique Wilson. The head judge will be Osamu Niikura, president of the Japan Lawyers International Solidarity Association (Jalisa), a member organization of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL).
Migrante International and other migrants' advocate groups and organizations will be witnesses to talk about the intensification of labor export in migrant-sending and receiving countries and its adverse effects on migrant workers. # # #

Human trafficking victims freed in U.S. prostitution bust....

By Peter Rudegeair | Reuters – 10 hrs ago

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Authorities on Tuesday broke up a $7 million three-state prostitution and money laundering ring, rescuing two human trafficking victims and arresting more than a dozen people, New York's attorney general said.

The crackdown was the result of a 16-month investigation into Somad Enterprises Inc., an advertising agency with offices in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that placed classified ads for five escort services, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said at a joint news conference.

In a 180-count indictment, 19 people and one corporation were charged with enterprise corruption, money laundering, falsifying business records, narcotics sales and prostitution. In addition, three prostitution clients have been charged.

"This was almost like the 'Mob Goes to Business School' kind of a situation," Schneiderman told reporters.

Authorities said Somad kept about half the $7 million in revenue the ring earned in the past 2 1/2 years with the other half going to the escort groups that prostituted about 40 women at any given time, many from China and Korea. In breaking up the ring, authorities rescued two women who were victims of human trafficking, one of whom was from Korea, Schneiderman said.

So far, 17 people have been arrested in connection with running the prostitution ring. In addition, police arrested three prostitution clients, including the former dean of students at well-respected Scarsdale High School, David Mendelowitz, Schneiderman said. Mendelowitz, who served on the suburban New York school's drug task force, was charged with patronizing a prostitute, possession of crack cocaine and hindering prosecution.

Two of the 19 people indicted remain at large, the New York Police Department said.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Bill Trott)

President Abraham Lincoln

16th US President Abraham Lincoln....his drive to END SLAVERY and unite the COUNTRY.  Let us join hands and believe with me that Modern Day Slavery can be defeated.

Philippine government may deny workers access to Taiwan

By Ann Yu--

The Philippines government's labor bureau may deny the right of Filipino workers to work for Taiwan-based companies in light of current labor dispute between the two nations. The dispute broke out after the Philippines government requested Taiwanese employers cover certain payments for Filipino workers hired as domestic helpers.
According to CNA, an anonymous Filipino official said that the Philippine government will “close the Taiwanese market” for Filipino workers if Taiwan does not accept recent demands concerning workers in the home-care sector. According to the official, this was to protect the Filipino workers' labor rights.

According to the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), in early November Rosalinda Baldoz, the Philippine secretary of the Labor and Employment Department, requested Taiwanese employers pay the expenses of workers hired in the home-care sector. This includes labor dispatch agency fees, travel documents, air fares and health check fees. The CLA refused the requests, calling them “unreasonable.”

The Filipino official said demands for employers to cover certain expenses are a feature of labor law in the Philippines but for the past few years have not been thoroughly executed. According to reports, Filipino workers were inclined to pay a total fee of NT$63,500 to dispatch agencies before coming to work in Taiwan, while in other countries they were only obliged to pay their first month's salary.
The CLA released a statement yesterday saying that Taiwan has other options besides Filipino workers and that these expenses should not fall on the shoulders of employers.
Chen Jui-chia , a section chief at the CLA's Vocational Training Center, said that negotiations about who is to cover these costs depends on market mechanisms between both countries. He stressed that the government of Philippines should be responsible for how much dispatch agencies charge Filipino workers, but does not have jurisdiction over agencies or employers in overseas country.
“This is their own domestic problem and Taiwan has no responsibility to cover for them. We will open other foreign labor markets if necessary,” Chen said.

An estimated 90,000 Filipinos currently work in Taiwan, of which 20,000 are domestic helpers. In-line with the Taiwanese system, Filipino workers pay a broker fee of NT$1,800 monthly in the first year; NT$1,700 the second year; and NT$1,500 in the third year.
Chen said Taiwanese dispatch agencies are already complaining that these payments are too low, while foreign countries complain that the price is too high. He added that the CLA is launching an in-depth investigation into the issue to try and reach an agreement between the two countries.

OFW commits suicide in Malaysia....

An overseas Filipino worker allegedly committed suicide inside the center of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Aloha Magbanua, 34, allegedly killed herself inside the OWWA center in Kuala Lumpur. However, her family believes she did not kill herself.
Her brother, Ryan Magbanua, said Aloha sent a message during the first week of October advising them not to believe in any news of her suicide. He said Aloha was being detained in an apartment.
After giving birth to her first-born child, Aloha flew to Malaysia last July to work as a domestic helper.
Several months into her job, Aloha told her family that she was being maltreated by her employer, prompting her mother to seek help from the OWWA headquarters in Manila.
Aloha's family said she was supposed to leave for the Philippines last November 8.
OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon, meanwhile, said prior to the incident inside the OWWA center in Kuala Lumpuir, Aloha had attempted to kill herself.
"Ito palang worker ay may attempt nang mag-suicide. At mukhang may problema siya sa employer niya. Hindi naming maintindihan pero mukhang may malalim na problema," she said.
Aloha's family is asking for the speedy repatriation of the OFW's remains, and to determine the real cause of her death.

ABS CBN NEWS

Trafficked Survivor Granted T-Visa.....

Great News..... Re-posting:

Trafficked Survivor Granted T-visa, Removal Proceedings Terminated

Posted by Jun on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 October 2012
Reference:
Zarah Vinola, National Alliance for FIlipino Concerns (NAFCON) U.S. North East
Publicity Committee Head, ne@nafconusa.org
Trafficked Survivor Granted T-visa, Removal Proceedings Terminated:
Another Victory in the Struggle of Filipino Migrants in the U.S.

 

NEW YORK — Jacqueline Aguirre, one of the trafficked workers who came out into the open in 2009, has been granted her T-visa (T-Nonimmigrant Classification) by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Department of Homeland Security.

The T-visa granted to Aguirre is valid for a period of 4 years, starting September 21, 2012 to September 20, 2016. She is now authorized to work in the United States within the validity period. In relation to this, Aguirre’s removal proceedings had also been terminated by the immigration judge on October 11, 2012.

“I am so happy. This is a proof that victories can be achieved if we fight for it. I spoke up against the injustice done to me, so other people heard and helped me through this ordeal. I know I did not do anything wrong and that gave me the strength and confidence to speak out and fight for my rights,” Aguirre said.
The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), with its member organizations in the North East, has helped in introducing Aguirre’s case to the community as part of its Stop Trafficking Our People (STOP) Campaign in December 2010, along with the case of Leticia Moratal, who has also been granted the T-visa early this year.

“We admire the courage of trafficked survivors, such as Ms. Aguirre’s, to stand up for their rights. Ms. Aguirre’s experience is one of the inspirations for many of our other kababayans who have been trafficked to the United States and an eye-opener for the community that these kinds of abuses also happen even in the land of milk and honey,” said Michelle Saulon, NAFCON North East Coordinator.
Aguirre’s Case: An Ugly Truth to Filipino Migrants’ Situation in the U.S.

Based from the lawsuit pending in the Eastern District Court of New York, Aguirre worked as a staff accountant in Best Care Agency owned by Dorothy de Castro and Perlita Jordan in Floral Park, New York starting in 2001. The agency promised to sponsor her as an H-1B worker and to pay her initially at the rate of $19 per hour for a regular 40-hour work week.

After her H-1B petition was approved, Aguirre was not paid the prevailing wage rate or the offered wage. Her compensation was cut in half. The agency then represented to her that she would receive the prevailing wage rate once she received her green card, which they likewise promised they would initiate. She was told that if she did not agree to receive the less pay, they would discontinue their H-1B sponsorship and she would become unlawfully present and could be deported. Not wanting to be deported, Aguirre begrudingly accepted the agency’s conditions, and hoped that her green card sponsorship would be approved soon, as her employers kept on reminding her they had the financial capability to sponsor her immigrant petition.
Even while her green card application was pending, Aguirre demanded that she be paid the prevailing wage rate. Her employers told her to wait for her green card approval. In April 2009, the USCIS denied Best Care Agency’s immigrant petition in Aguirre’s behalf as Best Care failed to submit sufficient evidence to convince the USCIS it had the financial capability to pay Aguirre the offered wage. Best Care had fraudulently represented to Aguirre it had the financial capability so that it could continue to have her work for less pay. As a result of Best Care’s financial incapability, Aguirre’s adjustment or green card application was likewise denied, and she was put in removal proceedings.
“Aside from applying for T-visa, we also filed a federal complaint against Aguirre’s former employers for violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), forced labor, involuntary servitude, fraudulent inducement and negligent misrepresentation. We are seeking compensatory damages by way of overdue wage adjustments worth at least $300,000, plus moral damages related to the abuse of Aguirre by her employers, as well as the suffering she had to undergo for having been put in removal proceedings” says Atty. Felix Vinluan, the immigration and civil rights lawyer, whose Foundation for Immigration and Employment Rights Advocacy handled Aguirre’s case.

Atty. Vinluan has also taken on other cases in court against human and labor trafficking of Filipinos in the U.S. East Coast.  “This has been a roller-coaster ride for Ms. Aguirre and the fight is not over yet, so she would need all the community support that she can get. There are also many more like Ms. Aguirre out there who need to be empowered to speak against these kinds of injustices and let them know that they have rights as im/migrants, documented or undocumented alike,” continued Saulon.
Trafficked Survivors with Community Rise Up!
“Acquiring the T-visa is just one of the many victories of the community that we will achieve in our campaign against labor and human trafficking. We have a lot more victories to look forward to. We will continuously fight and hold actions — whether be it in the streets or through cultural activities and educational discussions — against the Philippine government’s continuous implementation of the Labor Export Policy (LEP),” said Jonna Baldres, NAFCON Deputy General Secretary.
NAFCON believes that the LEP, a policy which sends our kababayans away from the homeland to work abroad, makes the Filipino migrants prone to abuses by employers. The migrant sector has also been a powerful force for decades and has become a main source of the country’s wealth through remittances. NAFCON believes, however, that keeping the migrants under the system of forced migration is still not the solution to the country’s economic problems.
“We must continue to demand for the Philippine government to create jobs in the motherland and address the basic needs and issues of the people — such as national industrialization and genuine agrarian reform — for the people to not leave and seek work abroad. Our kababayans do not deserve to undergo these abuses under the unjust system of forced migration,” Baldres continued.
Aguirre, along with other trafficked survivors, have joined actions, spoke in forums, and tirelessly called for a STOP to Human and Labor Trafficking, making the issue more widely known to the Filipino community not only in the United States but also in the Philippines, and also generating more consciousness and awareness on how to fight against it.

NAFCON and its member organizations nationwide have also helped in rallying the community to garner support for the cases of Elma Manliguez, Leticia Moratal, Sentosa 27++, Florida 15, Arizona 34, Adman 11 and many more who have been trafficked into the U.S. as early as year 2000.
“The collective efforts of Ms. Aguirre, other trafficked survivors and the community — from the church members to community grassroots organizations who support her fight — will never go to waste. Every step is a victory towards achieving justice and a better Philippines for all migrants and all our loved ones back home,” Baldres ended.

For those interested to take part in the Stop Trafficking Our People (STOP) Campaign, or get updated on recent and upcoming activities organized by the STOP Task Force, please email Michelle Saulon at ne@nafconusa.org or Yves Nibungco at yvesnibungco@gmail.com. ###

Jacqueline Aguirre, trafficked survivor, with the National Alliance

for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) calling to Stop Trafficking Our People (STOP)

at the Philippine Independence Day Celebration in Manhattan, June 2011

Jacqueline Aguirre, trafficked survivor, speaking at a Stop Trafficking Our People (STOP) Campaign Forum attended by members of the Filipino and non-Filipino communities in New York University organized by the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), June 2012

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns [NAFCON] is a national multi-issue alliance of Filipino organizations and individuals in the United States serving to protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos by fighting for social, economic, and racial justice and equality. It was launched in San Jose California in 2003. At present, NAFCON members encompass over 23 cities in the United States. For more information on NAFCON, please visit: http://nafconusa.org

Blast killing 22 wounding 111 in Riyadh

Saudi gas truck blast kills at least 22

Agence France-Presse

8:16 pm | Thursday, November 1st, 2012

People walk among rubble at the site of a fuel truck explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, November 1, 2012. A fuel truck exploded after hitting portions of a bridge Thursday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, engulfing buildings and cars in flames and killing dozens of people and injuring scores, witnesses and officials said. AP

RIYADH – A gas tanker truck exploded on a main road in the Saudi capital on Thursday, killing at least 22 people, injuring about 111 others and leaving a trail of destruction, officials said.
The lorry veered into a bridge pylon at a junction on Khurays Road in Riyadh at about 7:30 am, causing a gas leak that spread out and then burst into flames, destroying nearby cars and a business, the officials told AFP.
An AFP photographer at the scene reported widespread damage to the area, with dozens of cars mangled by the blast and burned out.
A bus that had been gutted by the fire stood idle on the flyover, with witnesses saying that the vehicle had been transporting workers whose fate remained unknown.
Another truck fell off the bridge due to the impact of the explosion, the witnesses said.
Amateur video footage posted on the Internet showed thick black smoke billowing from different spots around the flyover whose pylons were also damaged.
Civil defence personnel carried two “completely charred” bodies from the site.
“The death toll of the gas truck fire in Khurays has increased to 22 people, in addition to 111 wounded,” a civil defence official said.
Earlier, a civil defence official who requested not to be named told AFP that at least 14 people were killed and around 60 others hurt “in the explosion of the truck when it hit a bridge pylon.”
Civil defence spokesman in Riyadh, Mohammed al-Hammadi, said the explosion took place after gas leaked from the tank of the lorry, according to SPA state news agency.
“The explosion and fire happened after leaked gas filled the area. Huge damage happened, in addition to many traffic collisions,” he said, adding there were fatalities without specifying how many.
Hammadi said a nearby show yard of construction machinery was severely damaged by the explosion.