Meghan Markle's estranged father 'trapped on 19th floor' after deadly earthquake hits the Philippines

Thomas Markle, 81, moved to the islands earlier this year where he is reportedly caring for Meghan's half-brother, Tom.

The region has been struck by a massive 6.9 magnitude earthquake which has killed at least 69 people.

Mr Markle was reportedly in a high-rise block on the island of Cebu when the quake struck, and according to Meghan’s sister Samantha, he remains trapped in his apartment.

“My father is stuck on the 19th floor of a building in the Philippines after a massive earthquake and he can't walk and he is trapped," she wrote on X.

She also hit out at the Duchess of Sussex for her father's living circumstances, claiming that she was somehow responsible for putting him 'in this position'.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since around the time of her wedding to the Duke of Sussex.

Read more: Meghan's father Thomas Markle opens up about relationship with the Duchess of Sussex

Read more: At least 69 people dead after earthquake hits Philippines

Meanwhile, Samantha has been locked in a bitter family feud with Meghan for years and has often hit out at her sister publicly.

In an update, she wrote: "As of today he is OK, and making plans to get out of that building.

“They seem to be safe for now, and hopefully there will be no serious aftershocks.”

She gave no details about why he became stuck or whether the earthquake caused any damage to the building.

The magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck at about 10pm local time on Tuesday (3pm BST), leaving an unspecified number of residents trapped in collapsed houses, nightclubs and other businesses in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province, officials said.

Rescuers scrambled to find survivors on Wednesday. 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.

The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise, according to officials, who said intermittent rain and damaged bridges and roads were hampering the race to save lives.