Two S. Koreans die in Samoa quake, one girl missing: ministry

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with formation of emergency team, dispatch of consular
official)
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- Two South Koreans died and another went missing in
American Samoa as the region was hit by a powerful earthquake and an ensuing
tidal wave, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.
"According to a temporary tally compiled by the General Consulate in Honolulu,
two South Koreans were dead and one went missing due to the tsunami generated by
the strong earthquake," a ministry official said. "We are trying to find out
whether there were more victims."
They include a 62-year-old fisherman, Lee In-saeng, and a 46-year-old housewife,
Shin Mi-ja, the official said, adding her nine-year-old daughter remains missing.
The foreign ministry formed an emergency team headed by Lee Jung-kwan,
director-general of its consular affairs bureau, to deal with the issue and
decided to send a consular official at the General Consulate in Honolulu to the
scene.
There are 234 South Korean residents in American Samoa, mostly involved in
deep-sea fishery, but no South Korean resides in Samoa, he said.
A tsunami in the Pacific Ocean caused by a magnitude-8 earthquake on Tuesday
(local time) left at least 22 dead in American Samoa and 31 in Samoa with scores
more missing or feared dead, according to foreign news reports.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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