2 Ilonggo nurses presumed dead in New Zealand

ILOILO City – The 11 Filipinos – including two nurses from this city and Iloilo province – who went missing after the 6.3-magnitude earthquake in New Zealand last week are now presumed dead, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
“(The New Zealand) foreign minister called to confirm that 11 Filipino nationals may be presumed lost, and he wished to convey his government’s condolences to the families of the deceased,” said Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario yesterday.
The foreign minister also said “the search mode may be considered as having expired and a recovery mode will soon be declared,” said del Rosario.
The two Ilonggo nurses were Valquin Bensurto of Brgy. Cubay, Jaro district here and Mary Louise Anne Amantillo of Balasan, Iloilo.
DFA identified the nine other missing Filipinos:
* Jessie Lloyd Redoble
* John Kristoffer Chua
* Ezra Mae Medalle
* Emmabelle Anoba
* Jewel Francisco
* Ivy Jane Cabunilas
* Rhea Mae Sumalpong
* Erica Nora; and
* Lalaine Agatep.
Amantillo and Bensurto were trapped under the collapsed CTV building in Christchurch City.
Over DyFM Bombo Radyo in Iloilo City last week, April Andit, boardmate of Amantillo, said Mary Louise managed to call her cell phone after the earthquake.
She said Amantillo told her she was trapped in the CTV building and that she was with Bensurto.
Amantillo asked for help, Andit told Bombo Radyo.
Andit also said Amantillo described the area where she was trapped as full of smoke and that this made breathing difficult.
DFA spokesman Ed Malaya said the government will continue to coordinate with government officials in New Zealand to recover the bodies of the Filipinos.
Amantillo and Bensurto were nursing alumni of St. Paul University here, according to Amantillo’s mother Linda.
Linda said her daughter last called her on the night of February 21, a day before the earthquake struck.
On the other hand, Bensurto was able to send her mother Eunisa a text message after the quake.
He said they were trapped on the third floor of the CTV building.
“He was pleading for help … We tried to call but we failed to reach him,” said Eunisa over DyFM Bombo Radyo Iloilo.
GRIM REALITY
In New Zealand, the head of the civil defense said there had been no lives rescued since last week and the grim reality was that no more people would be found alive.
“The chances of finding others alive have diminished. Sadly, there comes a point where the response effort has to shift from rescue to the recovery of bodies, and regrettably we have reached that point,” said John Hamilton.
Seventy people were pulled out alive from leveled buildings in Christchurch City’s central business district when the quake struck at 12.51 p.m. Tuesday last week – a time when the city center was full of lunching office workers and shoppers. The last person found alive was the day after.
The confirmed death toll is 161, with police estimating that the final toll may be as high as 240, making it the second worst natural disaster after the 1931 Napier earthquake which claimed 256 people.
The victims are believed to have come from more than 20 countries, with many being foreign students – including Filipinos, Japanese and Chinese – at an English language school in the CTV building where the six floors collapsed on top of each other.
The local mayor said the news made it a “terrible” day for Christchurch.
“We will continue to hold hope that there is a still a miracle out there,” Bob Parker said.
More than 1,000 rescuers from New Zealand and seven countries, including Japan, the United States, Australia and Taiwan, have worked day and night to find any survivors, but had found only the dead after the rescue of a woman in a finance company building last Wednesday.
Rescue officials said a recovery operation will see them move to clearing away damaged buildings with heavy machinery instead of the more painstaking methods used when seeking survivors.
The New Zealand government has said there will be an inquiry into how buildings in the city hit by September 2010’s force 7.1 quake were passed as safe for use, and whether that was a factor in the amount of casualties. (With reports from abs-cbnnews.com, Reuters/PN)