Meghan Markle's father, Thomas, has denied claims made by her half-sister, Samantha, that he is "trapped" in his building in the Philippines, after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake killed at least 72 people and injured more than 200 others. Samantha took to her private X account on Tuesday to tweet: "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 also blamed her sister, the Duchess of Sussex, adding: "Shame on my disgusting evil f*****g sister forever putting our father in this position. I hope she is cursed." Mr Markle moved to the Philippines earlier this year for a fresh start.

He has now dismissed his daughter's claims and said he is safe.

Speaking to TMZ, he confirmed that he is safe in his hotel room, which was not impacted by the quake, adding: "The epicentre was 100 miles from here."

He said that he is not "trapped" or "unable to walk" and that he hasn't spoken to Samantha and is unsure why she made those comments.

Mr Markle said: "I'm currently sitting on the couch in my hotel room, with my feet kicked up and watching Charlie Chan movies. I'm quite comfortable."

According to the Independent, Samantha lashed out at one of the people in the comments who questioned whether she had actually spoken to her father.

She told them: "I talked to my dad several times a day and was on the phone with him, my brother, and our friend. I had texted him right before and was on the phone while they were trying to figure out what to do. What do you mean how would I get a hold of him? Maybe you don't know about phones or texting?"

Shortly before her father dismissed her claims, she shared a new update, saying: "I wish to extend our deep gratitude to everyone expressing concern about my father. Thank you.

"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. Provisions are being made so that he won't be trapped in a similar situation again. God bless and stay safe everyone."

At least 72 people have been killed in the latest devastating count following the quake on Tuesday.

The earthquake occurred at a dangerously shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3 miles) and was centered about 19 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where officials reported about half of the known deaths.

It was one of the most powerful to batter the central region in more than a decade and it struck while many people slept or were at home.