Filipina, daughter among dead in Japan disaster

MANILA, Philippines—A Filipina and her 12-year-old daughter were among those who perished in the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan last March 11, according to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.

In a report to the home office, the embassy on Tuesday said the remains of Grace Agnes Oprecio-Hiruta, 45, and her child, Maria, were recovered on March 19 by a Japanese search and rescue team somewhere in Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture.

They were positively identified by Grace Agnes’ husband, Masahiro Hiruta, the embassy also said.

The Fukushima Iwaki Central Police Headquarters had earlier told the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Morioka about the Hirutas’ fate.

The search and rescue team reportedly discovered the body of Mrs. Hiruta “in the vicinity of the house of a certain Mr. Suzuki in Iwaki City, Fukushima.”

Quoting Japanese authorities, the embassy said “the cause of (the Hirutas’) death was tsunami-related.”

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said Mrs. Hiruta’s family in Parañaque City has been notified.

“The embassy team is coordinating with Mrs. Hiruta’s relatives and providing them the appropriate assistance,” the DFA also said.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez has expressed the mission’s “sincere condolences to the (Hiruta) family,” the foreign office added.