1 of 4 Filipinos missing in quake-hit Myanmar found dead – DFA
Members of the Philippine emergency medical assistance team treat victims in earthquake-hit Myanmar in a photo released on April 6. — Photo from the Office of Civil Defense
MANILA, Philippines — One of the four Filipinos missing in Myanmar following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake was found dead, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs regrets to inform the nation that the remains of one of the four missing Filipinos in Mandalay, Myanmar have been positively identified,” the DFA said in a statement.
READ: 4 Filipinos missing in Myanmar — DFA
The DFA also said that the family of the deceased had been informed of the situation and the agency will not disclose further information “out of respect for their privacy in this time of grief.”
In a Facebook post, Alvin Aragon, brother of the deceased overseas Filipino worker Francis Aragon, confirmed the latter’s passing.
“Ipinapaalam po namin na nakita na po yung kapatid namin at masakit man sa amin tanggapin na kasama na siya ni Lord ngayon,” Alvin’s Facebook post read.
(We are informing everyone that our brother has been found and it has been difficult for us to accept that he is with the Lord now.)
The DFA added that they will “continue to work and hope for the best for the remaining three Filipinos still unaccounted for as a result of the powerful earthquake which hit Myanmar last 28th of March.”
The Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent Urban Search and Rescue Team is currently deployed in Myanmar to aid in search and rescue operations.
The contingent also includes the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team, which had treated 268 patients from April 2 to April 5, according to data from the Department of Health.
READ: Myanmar quake toll: 3,354 dead, 4,850 hurt
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted northwest of Sagaing City in Myanmar last March 28. It was followed by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in the same area after a few minutes.
