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RP soldier in Haiti rescued, three remain trapped


(Update 3 - 9:05 p.m.) One of the four Filipino soldiers who were trapped in collapsed buildings after a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit Haiti last Tuesday has been rescued, a military spokesman said. Cpl. David Catacutan, a member of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping contingent in Haiti, was rescued Thursday morning [Manila time] from the rubble of the Montana Hotel in Port-Au-Prince, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. Catacutan was in good condition while being treated for minor bruises at the UN peacekeepers’ barracks in Port-au-Prince, Brawner said. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there are 462 Filipinos in Haiti — 172 are military and police peace-keepers, while 290 are civilians. Catacutan was among those trapped in the hotel during the earthquake because he was providing security to a UN official who had gone to the Montano to work out in the gym, Brawner added.
FILE PHOTO: A Filipino member of the 10th RP Peacekeeping Contingent (right) helps other UN peacekeepers evacuate an injured worker during search and rescue efforts for trapped soldiers at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Wednesday. AP
Catacutan’s wife, Analiza, was thrilled about the rescue, but said in an interview with QTV’s Balitanghali that she had yet to talk to her husband. She said she was “surprised" to learn that her husband had been stationed in Haiti when she thought he was assigned to East Timor. But she was assured by Col. Gregory Cayetano, AFP Peacekeeping head, that he had been given medical treatment and was in good condition. "Ok na po siya. Katatawag lang po sa akin ni Col. Cayetano [at] sinabi niya po nakuha na raw po, [Col. Cayetano just called me up to say that my husband is already in good condition.]," she said. 1 injured, 3 still trapped Only three peacekeepers, two of them women, remained trapped in the rubble of the collapsed Christopher Hotel as of posting time. Brawner identified them as Perly Tanagui of the Philippine Navy, Sgt. Jermis Arcena of the Philippine Air Force, and Sgt. Estacio Bermudez of the Philippine Army. Tanagi, Arcena and Bermudez, who all worked as clerks in various offices in the hotel's second floor, were believed to have been working overtime when the earthquake struck, Brawner said. "We believe that they were [working] overtime... because the earthquake happened after 5 p.m. when most of UN workers in that building already left for their barracks or for their respective homes," the AFP spokesman said. Their families have been informed about the present condition, said Brawner, adding that Filipino troops were doing their best to rescue them. Citing reports reaching him, Brawner earlier told dzBB radio that other members of the Philippine contingent were safe and helping in rescue operations. "May mga minor injuries daw pero as of now everybody is safe aside from those still trapped. Safe ang 153 others (Some of them had minor injuries but as of now everybody's safe, aside from those trapped)," he said. Meanwhile, another Filipino soldier assigned in Haiti has been reported as injured in the earthquake that struck the Caribbean country, the Foreign Affairs department said on Thursday. In a statement posted on its Website, the DFA identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Bonifacio T. Pait of Tabuk, Kalinga. He was in good condition, it added. Most of the Filipino soldiers stationed there are helping in rescue operations. [See: AFP: 4 RP soldiers remained trapped in Haiti after quake] Many of the civilians were working in the garment sector, where they occupy middle- and upper-level management positions. There are Catholic priests and nuns deployed in Haiti as well, the DFA said. Power failure delays information updates In the meantime, authorities were having difficulty obtaining more detailed information about the peacekeepers. Brawner said they were depending on satellite phone because there was still no electricity in Haiti. "So (Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy) is trying to save the battery life of the satellite phone because they cannot charge, so the arrangement is that he will call us when there is a definite development," Brawner said, referring to the head of the Philippine military contingent in Haiti. Dagoy was unable to give an exact time and date for the next update, but the military has set up an operation center in Camp O'Donnel in Tarlac province to answer queries on the peacekeepers' condition. The military may be reached at +639198776728. — with reports from Aie Balagtas See, RJAB Jr./NPA, GMANews.TV
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