Derry nun killed in Ecuador earthquake to be repatriated
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Derry nun killed in Ecuador earthquake to be repatriated

THE body of Sister Clare Theresa Crockett is expected to be returned home within a week.

The 33-year-old Derry nun died when an earthquake struck in Ecuador on Saturday, April 16.

She was based in Playa Prieta with the Home of the Mother order, and was one of six people killed when the school she was working in collapsed.

It is believed that she was teaching a guitar lesson at the time and died when she got trapped on a stairway as she tried to escape.

The 7.8 magnitude quake – one of the worst the South American country has suffered – occurred in the Manta area.

Over 480 people died in the earthquake, with more than 4,000 injured.

The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust is liaising with the authorities in Ecuador on behalf of the family.

"We have been working with a repatriation company and we know that Sister Clare is now with the undertakers," said Colin Bell from the Trust. "It's only now a matter of getting the paperwork done and getting a flight as soon as possible."

The Trust was created by Mr Bell following the death of his 26-year-old son, Kevin, who was killed in a suspected hit-and-run in New York in June 2013.