Search operation underway
At least one person has been killed and about 20 people are feared trapped under the rubble of a building that collapsed early on Sunday in a city near the Philippine capital, Manila.
A search operation has so far rescued 24 people from the site in Angeles and two from a nearby hotel that was struck by falling debris.
The nine-storey building had still been under construction when it suddenly gave way around 03:00 local time on Sunday. Officials are now investigating the cause of the collapse.
Many of those trapped are thought to be construction workers who were unable to escape in time.
Victim identified as Malaysian national
Later on Sunday, local officials said the person confirmed to have died was a 65-year-old man from Malaysia, who had reportedly been staying in the hotel.
He had managed to communicate with rescuers by phone while pinned under a hotel wall, acting Philippine fire chief Rico Kwan Tiu told AFP.
“When we retrieved him… he was already lifeless,” he said.
Images from the scene showed a mangled heap of scaffolding and concrete spilling onto the street, covered by green safety netting.
Rescue efforts face difficulties
City information officer Jay Pelayo told AFP that the building’s walls and scaffolding surrounding it had buckled, likely trapping people in a pile of debris.
“There are big chunks of concrete, and we need equipment to lift them up,” he said. “That is what’s challenging for the rescue right now.”
Five people have been confirmed as trapped, two of whom have been able to make contact with rescue workers, according to Reuters, with more feared to be under the rubble.
An eyewitness told the Daily Tribune newspaper that she heard a loud rumbling moments before the collapse. She said she briefly lost consciousness, waking up to see debris covering two streets.
Concerns over construction safety
Angeles sits around 90km north-west of Manila, on Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines.
Construction work in the country is frequently affected by poor planning, project management issues and design errors, according to research studies.
A landfill collapse in Cebu in January killed 11 waste workers, with others pulled from under the rubbish.
Source: BBC
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