Man dies of cardiac arrest after 4.3 quake in Cotabato town

KIDAPAWAN CITY–A 65-year-old man suffered cardiac arrest in Mlang town of Cotabato province on Thursday (Feb. 27) apparently induced by stress amid a 4.3 magnitude quake.

Engineer Arnuflo Villaruz, operations chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said Romualdo Vicente, of Sultan Kudarat province, was visiting relatives when the quake struck.

According to Villaruz, Vicente complained of chest pain after the quake, prompting his relatives to rush him to nearby Mlang District Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

John Eric Bercasio, 18, of the village of Poblacion B in Mlang, was wounded in the head when a huge crucifix fell and hit him.

“He was inside the chapel when the tremor happened. The crucifix fell and hit his head, ” Villaruz said.

The victim was brought to the Mlang District Hospital but was tranferred to the Cotabato Provincial Hospital for CT scan.

In Magpet town, several students of Manobisa Elementary School complained of dizziness after the quake.

They were given first aid at the school clinic.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology traced the epicenter of the quake 14-kilometers northwest of Makilala town. It was tectonic in origin and had a shallow depth of two kilometers.

Edited by TSB