4 Filipinos still missing after Myanmar quake

April 2 ------ THE Philippine Embassy in Yangon's assistance team reported that rescuers have not yet found the four Filipinos earlier reported missing following the powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar. The embassy's composite Assistance to Nationals (ATN) team arrived Monday evening in Mandalay, which is 382 miles or 614 kilometers away from Yangon. Travel time by car is about 7 hours. 

There are 170 Filipino teachers in Mandalay, the embassy said. Two of the four Filipinos are a husband and his wife residing in a building that collapsed following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit the country on March 28. The ATN team met with the Filipino community coordinators in Mandalay to "ascertain the situation and well-being of the Filipinos," the embassy said on Tuesday. The team then proceeded to the site of the last known whereabouts of the four unaccounted for Filipinos and met with the site supervisors overseeing the search and rescue operations. "As of this point, there have not been any confirmed Filipinos who were rescued or retrieved from the site. Operations are still ongoing," the embassy said in a statement. 

The embassy's Chargé d'Affaires Angelito Nayan said the Myanmar Fire Services Department and other international rescue teams were conducting search and rescue operations at the collapsed Sky Villa building wherein there were reportedly Filipino residents. "Let's continue to pray for the safety of our fellow Filipinos there," Nayan said in a statement in Filipino. He advised all Filipinos in Myanmar to be on alert for possible aftershocks. "Remain calm and be alert for any changes in your environment," Nayan said. 

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it was closely monitoring the safety and security of Filipinos in Myanmar and Thailand, following the calamity. Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac called for prayers for the four missing Filipinos. 

Source: philstar.com