Pinay killed in Samoa quake

MANILA, Philippines - A 62-year-old Filipina immigrant in Pago-Pago, American Samoa, was among those killed when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the US territory of American Samoa and its outlying islands this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday.

Citing a report of the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu headed by Consul General Leoncio Cardenas, the DFA said the death of Godofreda Reambonza-Palma was reported to the consulate by a niece of the victim.

A 10-foot tsunami thereafter struck off the US Pacific island of American Samoa, causing fatalities among the populace.

The DFA is coordinating with the consulate for the immediate repatriation of the remains of the victim.

American Samoa, about 2,600 miles or 5 hours by plane away from the Hawaiian Islands, is home to about 2,500 to 3,000 Filipinos.

No casualties

Meantime, the DFA reported that no Filipinos were killed when a 7.7-magnitude quake struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday.

Citing a report of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, the DFA said the earthquake that hit Indonesia occurred in a remote area where there are no reported Filipinos.

“There was no Filipino who had been hurt or killed in the earthquake and we are very thankful to God,” said Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Vidal Querol.

The embassy is monitoring developments on the calamity that hit Padang, West Sumatra at 5:16 p.m. last Wednesday.

The quake that lasted for almost four minutes was along the same fault line that caused the massive Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It was determined that the epicenter was 71 kilometers under the sea of Pariaman, 70 kilometers from Padang.

The tremors were felt in Medan, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Bengkulu and other areas across Sumatra Island causing widespread panic. A tsunami warning for countries around the Indian Ocean was issued after the earthquake struck but was lifted an hour and a half later.

According to the Indonesian Social Department, as many as 464 people were killed and around 500 others were wounded. The death toll is expected to rise with thousands of people still trapped in the rubble of the collapsed buildings.

Pinay found dead

Still in a related development, a 37-year-old Filipina was found dead in a farm in Rochester, Kent, an embassy report said yesterday.

The Philippine Embassy in London identified the Filipina national as Leah G. Cuestin, whose body was recently found in a farmland in Kent, about a two-hour drive from London.

The victim was reported missing last Sept. 15 and was the subject of an intensive search by the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police Missing Persons Bureau after she failed to report for work on Sept. 13.

The embassy report said Cuestin was in Britain for over a year before her disappearance in mid-September 2009. Aside from pursuing studies at Thames International College, she also worked part-time in a care home in London.

British police arrested a male individual in his 30s in London on Sept. 29 in connection with the case.

As of this time, an intensive post-mortem investigation on the case is being conducted by the UK Police Homicide and Serious Crime Command in Hendon, London.

The embassy is closely monitoring the investigation and appealed to anyone who knew the victim to provide any relevant information to UK authorities or the embassy.