At least 69 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit the Philippines
Thomas Markle has said he is ‘safe’ following the 6.9 magnitude eathquake.
Picture:
Handout
Meghan Markle’s father has said he is ‘safe’ after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the Philippines.
The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father, 81, reassured those concerned for his safety after rumours began circulating that he was “trapped and unable to walk” in a block of high rise flats.
Confirming he is alive and well, Mr Markle insisted he is “safe in his hotel room and in no way is he ‘trapped’ and ‘unable to walk’”.
At least 69 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit a central Philippine province.
Recent months have seen Mr Markle living in the province of Cebu, residing in the densely populated region alongside his son, Thomas Jnr, 58.
The magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck at about 10pm local time on Tuesday (3pm BST).
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Damaged homes lie after a landslide caused by Tuesday’s strong earthquake killed some people sleeping in their hillside homes.
Picture:
Alamy
Mr Markle later added to TMZ: “Please don’t worry about me, everything is okay” before thanking well-wishers for their concern.
It comes after Meghan’s sister, Samantha Markle, posted on social media that her father was unable to leave his 19th floor apartment in the province.
“He can’t walk and he is trapped,” she wrote on Wednesday.
Meghan’s father has said he’s ‘safe’ following the quake.
Picture:
Getty
The death toll from the quake continues to rise, with an unspecified number of residents trapped in collapsed houses, nightclubs and other businesses as the search for survivors continues.
The hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province have been worst affected, officials said.
Rescuers scrambled to find survivors on Wednesday.
Earthquake survivor Jesiel Malinao sits beside the coffins of her two sons on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 after a strong earthquake on Tuesday caused a landslide that toppled their hillside homes in Bogo city, Cebu Province.
Picture:
Alamy
Army troops, police and civilian volunteers backed by digging equipment and sniffer dogs were deployed to carry out house-to-house searches for survivors.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in an undersea fault line at a dangerously shallow depth of three miles, was about 12 miles north-east of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where about half of the deaths were reported, officials said.