MANILA — At least four people have been killed and 17 are missing after a building under construction collapsed in the Philippines, authorities say as search and rescue efforts are under way.
Rescuers retrieved at least three people on Monday from the rubble of the nine-story building in the city of Angeles, around 80 km north of the capital, Manila.
Rescuers were racing against time on Monday in a search for possible survivors more than 24 hours after the collapse of the building/
The painstaking operation, with crews carefully removing rocks and surrounding debris by hand, underscored the difficulty of the rescue effort, being carried out under the scorching sun.
Authorities said the rescuers were unable to use excavators and other machinery for fear that the unstable structure could shift further and bury any survivors deeper beneath the rubble.
Search teams, assisted by police dogs, continued to comb through the debris after overnight thermal scans detected heartbeats and breathing beneath the collapsed structure.
Rescuers also placed yellow flexible tubes to channel air into pockets beneath a tangle of concrete, mangled metal and collapsed scaffolding.
The delicate search operations stretched into a second day, as families waiting near the disaster area voiced growing frustration and despair, saying they were receiving no information about the fate of their missing loved ones.
“My youngest child keeps asking, but I do not have answers,” said 47-year old Lea Casilao, whose husband, a construction worker, is believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.
“If only the rescuers could call out his name, he might still respond, so I’d have something to hold on to, some hope,” Casilao said, wiping away her tears.
As rescuers pulled a third body from the rubble, officials said the death toll has risen to four, with 17 still missing. At least 26 people have been rescued from the site.
One of the two victims that were retrieved earlier had a pulse, but later died, Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, said on telephone.
Another person died after suffering cardiac arrest while still trapped under the rubble.
Among those who died was a 65-year-old Malaysian national whose body was recovered on Sunday from a neighboring hotel building that had also been affected by the collapse.
Officials said an investigation was now underway into what caused the collapse of the multi-story building. They said they are trying to locate the building owner to get answers, including clarity on the number of workers at the site.
Source: Saudi Gazette