Taiwan rep offers condolences to family of Pinay killed in earthquake



By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
A representative of Taiwan sent his condolences to the family of Melody Castro Albano on Thursday evening.
Albano, a caregiver, was found dead in the wake of the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck Hualien, Taiwan on Tuesday.
"We would like to extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the family," Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.
"We are sorry. We also share the—we are very sad at the news—the grief of the family," he continued. "Our hearts are with the family at this (trying) time."
Lin added that Albano's body was already at a funeral parlor. He then extended an offer to the Filipina's family to visit Taiwan to claim her body, along with other forms of assistance.
"If the family would like to visit Taiwan, if there's anything my office, TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office), can do, we'll do our very best to assist them, to deal with the whole thing," he said.
In a separate phone interview, TECO Director Tony Tsai said Albano's body was found inside a closet.
"She was hiding in a closet and when the earthquake occurred, the building collapsed, she was—the building [collapsed] over her body," Tsai said. "When she was found, she was dead in the closet because she couldn't escape successfully."
The earthquake killed at least 10 people, injured 265 more, and left scores missing among collapsed buildings. Many of the 58 reported missing are thought to be trapped in a 12-story residential building that tilted in a 45-degree angle after the quake.
The Philippines is represented in Taiwan by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) while TECO represents the island in Manila.
No formal diplomatic relations have been established between Taiwan and the Philippines in deference to the One-China Policy, which prevents the self-ruling Chinese territory from being recognized as a state by other countries.
An estimated 100,000 Filipinos live in the entirety of Taiwan. Hualien has at least 100,000 residents. —BAP/KG, GMA News

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