New Zealand officials Wednesday identified the only person killed in a freak tornado a day earlier as a 37-year-old construction worker, originally from the Philippines.
Earlier reports had said two people were killed by Tuesday’s twister, which overturned cars, tore the roof off of a shopping mall and left 14 people injured.
Student nurse Sophie Bond told reporters she had tried to save the construction worker after seeing him picked up and thrown against a concrete wall by the wind, which was estimated at up to 200 kilometers per hour.
But she said the man had suffered a severe head wound with heavy loss of blood and could not be saved. The man’s name was given as Benedict Dacayan.
