'Oldest person in the world' - believed to be 124 years old - dies in Philippines: Francisca Susano passes away before Guinness World records could officially verify her age
- Francisca Susano, known affectionately as Lola, died around 6.45pm Monday
- Guinness World Records had still been working to verify her age in September
- A cause of death has not yet been determined, she showed no signs of Covid-19
- Susano was born September 11, 1897, when the country was still ruled by Spain
A woman believed to be the oldest person in the world has died at the age of 124 in the Philippines, local officials confirmed today.
Francisca Susano, known affectionately as Lola, died at around 6.45pm on Monday at her home in Kabankalan in the province of Negros Occidental.
Guinness World Records had still been carrying out age verification as of September to declare her the world's oldest living person.
Susano joins a long list of claimants to the title which officially belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.
A cause of death has not yet been determined, but Susano had not exhibited any symptoms of Covid-19.
The supercentenarian was born on September 11, 1897, when the country was still ruled by Spain.
Francisca Susano, known affectionately as Lola, died at around 6.45pm on Monday at her home in Kabankalan (pictured: receiving a centenarian award from the local government). Guinness World Records had still been carrying out age verification as of September to declare her the world's oldest living person.
Susano is surrounded by well wishers on one of her recent birthdays, left and right
Francisca Susano, known affectionately as Lola, died at around 6.45pm on Tuesday at her home in Kabankalan in the province of Negros Occidental
Susano was celebrated by the local government on her birthday with certificates to mark her achievement, as well as a cake and flowers.
Politician Rodolfo Ordanes filed a petition that month urging the House of Representatives to award her £15,000 in recognition of her 'monumental achievement.'
In a statement on Tuesday, the City of Kabankalan said: 'It is with sadness in our heart when we received the news that our beloved Lola Francisca Susano passed away early this Monday evening November 22.
'Lola Iska is considered the oldest person in Negros Occidental and in the Philippines.
'Her official declaration as the oldest person in the world at 124 years old is currently [being] validated by the Guinness World Records.
'Mayor Pedro Zayco, Jr., Vice Mayor Raul Rivera and all city officials as well as all the people of Kabankalan City condoles and prays with the family of Lola Iska in their period of bereavement.
'Lola Iska will always remain as our inspiration and pride.'
Susano's claim to the oldest person title comes less than two months after a family in Eritrea claimed that their patriarch, Natabay Tinsiew, died aged 127.
He died peacefully at home on September 27 in the remote village of Azefa - located in a gorge and inhabited by just 300 people.
The family of Natabay Tinsiew (pictured) said he died peacefully on Monday in his remote village of Azefa at the age of 127, which would make him the oldest person to have ever lived
His grandson Zere Natabay told the BBC that the secrets to his long life were 'patience, generosity and a joyful life.'
Nataby told the broadcaster that church records, including his grandfather's birth certificate, say that he was born in the same year he was baptized in 1894, which would make him 127 years old at the time of his death.
Father Mentay, a Catholic priest who served in Azefa for seven years, confirmed that local records show Mr Natabay was born in 1894, saying that he was present when Azefa village celebrated his 120th birthday in 2014.
Officially the oldest man to have ever lived was Japan's Jiroemon Kimura, who died in 2013 at the age of 116, according to the Guinness World Records.
The oldest person alive today is Kane Tanaka, a 118-year-old Japanese woman.
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WORLD EVENTS SHE WOULD HAVE LIVED THROUGH
1897: Greco-Turkish war
1901: Formation of the Commonwealth of Australia
1903: Wright brothers make first flight, Suffragettes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Wright Brothers make their first flight in December, 1903
1905: First Russian revolution
1914: World War I begins
1917: Russian revolution leads to communism
1918: World War I ends, Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
1921: Chinese Communists rise
1924: Russia goes from Lenin to Stalin
1927: Lindbergh nonstop flight to Paris
1934: Hitler consolidates power in Germany
1939: World War II Starts
1941: The Holocaust begins
Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-mer on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings, 6th June 1944
1945: World War II and the Holocaust ends, first nuclear detonation
1947: India gains independence
1948: Birth of Israel
1949: NATO founded
1950: Korean War starts
1952: Elizabeth II crowned in Britain, First Hydrogen Bomb Test
1953: The discovery of DNA
1955: Rosa Parks galvanises civil rights movement, Vietnam war begins
1958: US Launches First Satellite
1959: Castro takes over Cuba
1961: Berlin Wall built
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
1963: JFK assassinated in Texas
1966: Mao purges rivals
1967: Six-Day War
1968: Martin Luther King assassinated
1969: Moon Landing
The Moon Landing in 1969
1975: Saigon Falls, Vietnam war ends
1976: The Concorde changes air travel
1977: Rise of the PC
1979: Islamic Republic born in Iran
1983: The Internet is born
1989: The Berlin Wall falls
1991: American goes to war in Middle East
1992: Cold War ends, breakup of Yugoslavia
1993: The EU becomes reality with treaty
1994: Rwandan genocide
1999: NATO's first independent strike, in Kosovo
2000: International Space Station opens
2001: 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York, U.S. invades Afghanistan
Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City
2003: US Invades Iraq
2007: The iPhone is released
2008: Dow plunges, global economic crash
2012: The "God Particle" Is (Probably) Discovered
2016: Trump Elected
2019: Hong Kong Protests
2020: COVID-19 global pandemic
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