8th Pinoy fatality in New Zealand quake identified

MANILA, Philippines - New Zealand authorities have identified the Filipina nurse who managed to call and send text messages to her parents in the Philippines shortly after the earthquake struck Christchurch last February.

Mary Louise Amantillo, 23, was the eighth Filipino fatality identified by the New Zealand police. Three Filipinos remain missing but are presumed dead.

Linda Amantillo, the mother of a Filipino nurse who got trapped in the rubble of the Canterbury Television building last Feb. 22, had pleaded with New Zealand authorities not to stop the search.

The Filipina nurse managed to call and send text messages to tell her parents that she was trapped at the collapsed CTV building after the earthquake hit.

But Amantillo stopped sending messages to her parents after more than two hours.

New Zealand police earlier identified the seventh Filipino fatality in the Christchurch earthquake.

Authorities said John Christopher Chua was killed in the 6.3 magnitude quake.

Chua, one of the 11 Filipino nurses trapped at the collapsed building, was identified through his wedding ring and wristwatch.

The authorities earlier identified Emmabelle Cabahug Anoba, 26, and Valquin Descalsota Bensurto, 23, as among those killed in the earthquake.

The other fatalities whose bodies have been recovered were Lalaine Collado Agatep, 38; Erica Nora, 20; Ivy Jane Cabunilas, 33; and Jewel Jose Francisco, 26.

The three still missing are Jessie Lloyd Redoble, Ezra Mae Medalle, and Rhea Mae Sumalpong.