Maid rewarded for saving children

Maid rewarded for saving children

SINGAPORE (AFP): A Filipina maid who saved three children when a fire broke out at an apartment block here has received a commendation from Philippine President Fidel Ramos and been rewarded by her employers.

Zenaida Recarte, 20, who hurt her head and back while taking her three charges downstairs from their 16th-story flat, was presented with a photocopy of the commendation by Philippine embassy officials, The Sunday Times said.

From her grateful Singaporean employers, she received a gold necklace and pendant as a reward, it said.

Ramos reportedly praised Recarte's presence of mind, adding that her action had confirmed Filipinos' belief that overseas contract workers were "modern-day heroes."

Recarte first carried a one-year-old boy and then led his older sisters aged 10 and five down the stairs from their flat during the Christmas Day fire which sparked an emergency evacuation.

She jumped from the second-story with the boy, hurting her head and back, but, despite the pain, returned to bring the girls to safety. She said later that her only thought was to save the children.