11 missing Filipinos in NZ quake presumed dead

04 March 2011

Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Thursday that the 11 missing Filipinos in earthquake are presumed dead by New Zealand authorities. On a news conference on New Zealand, Thursday, Civil Defence Emergency Management national controller John Hamilton said that they have shifted their response focus from rescue to body recovery.

Most of the reported missing Filipinos are students in an English language school in the collapsed Canterbury Television building.

Death toll reached 163 on Friday and officials expect that it will reach more than 200.

Sources: Inquirer.net; Inquirer Global Nation; Philippine News Agency