COTABATO CITY — Two residents of North Cotabato province died following the strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake that jolted Mindanao on Thursday morning.
The latest fatalities were an ethnic Maguindanaon woman named Zalika Piang and Cesar Bangot.
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Piang, a resident of Barangay Sambulawan in Midsayap, possibly died of cardiac arrest in her room, according to her granddaughter Fatima Kanakan, director of the Office of Southern Cultural Communities-Bangsamoro Region.
“She was alone in her room when the earthquake struck and was found sprawled on the floor lifeless,” Kanakan said.
Bangot, barangay chairman of Batasan in Makilala, succumbed to injuries sustained when their office collapsed as the ground swayed with force for more than 10 seconds, radio reports said.
Four people from different towns in the province died due to tremor-related injuries last October 29 when a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the region.
The aftershock on Thursday morning also damaged the Eva’s Hotel building along a highway in Kidapawan City, capital of North Cotabato.
The building had been declared unsafe before by government engineers due to damage caused by previous tremors.