Chary Sabalande, 34, and Roymark Boring, 32, were killed at a railway crossing on Pongakawa School Rd, near State Highway 2. Photo / File
Chary Sabalande, 34, and Roymark Boring, 32, were killed at a railway crossing on Pongakawa School Rd, near State Highway 2. Photo / File
The two men killed when their car collided with a train in Pongakawa were both fathers, with one leaving behind his pregnant wife.
Chary Alonzo Sabalande, 34, and Roymark Solomon Bering, 32 were Philippine nationals and had only been in the country about a week when the crash happened onthe Pongakawa School Rd rail crossing on State Highway 2 on June 19. They were on their way to work for Southern Cross Horticulture when the crash happened about 8.15am.
Southern Cross Horticulture chief executive Andrew Dunstan has confirmed Sabalande and Bering were both married with children.
Sabalande was a father of two, and Bering had one child, and his widow was expecting their second child, he said.
A private funeral service was held for the crash victims on Sunday afternoon at Mount Maunganui's St Thomas More Church.
Tauranga Filipino Society vice president Lolita Libeau said about 165 people attended, with 75 per cent from the Filipino community, 40 or so from Auckland and Hamilton and the rest from Tauranga and Western Bay, she said.
Libeau, who helped with the preparation and organisation of the food, said lots of tears were shed, and the Filipino community was hurting and the men's families heartbroken.
"It was a very emotional service, especially as it was live streamed back to the Philippines and there were heart-wrenching messages from the men's families."
Even members of the Filipino Church choir were crying, Libeau said.
"Despite what happened to them they looked like they were just sleeping and at peace."
She believed the men's bodies were due to be flown back to the Philippines todayA Givealittle page has been set up to help the families of the victim's of the crash by the Tauranga Filipino Society, which so far has raised just over $17,000.
"All funds will be used to help the victims and their families, who are heartbroken by the loss of their beloved ones," Libeau said.
Three other men, also from the Philippines, were in the car when it crashed and were taken to hospital.
A 27-year-old was treated and discharged from Tauranga Hospital on June 20.
Two others remain in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital. All five men were from the Philippines and working for Southern Cross Horticulture firm.
Police and emergency services at the scene of the fatal crash at Pongakawa School Rd rail crossing. Photo / File
