Unfinished Philippines building collapses, 21 missing, Malaysian tourist killed
Hundreds of rescuers involved in search for survivors after the nine-storey building’s walls and scaffolding buckled, trapping workers
A nine-storey building under construction in a city north of the Philippine capital collapsed before dawn on Sunday, leaving at least one Malaysian tourist dead and at least 21 people, mostly workers, trapped in the rubble, officials said.
Two were located alive but could not be immediately extricated.
At least 24 workers either managed to dash out of the building, where they mostly slept on the ground floor, or were rescued after it crumbled to the ground around 2:30am in a crowded neighbourhood of budget hotels, cafes, spas and rural houses near a former US Air Force base, officials said.
A Malaysian tourist died and another guest was injured in a lodging house, which was partly hit by debris from the collapsing building in Angeles City in Pampanga province, Fire Superintendent Maria Lea Sajili said.
Relatives of those trapped under concrete slabs, twisted iron bars, aluminium scaffolding and other debris prayed and wept as they waited for word from rescuers, with around 700 involved.
“This is the worst day of our lives,” said Joamel Angcao, an 18-year-old student, as she and other siblings waited for word on their parents, who were among those trapped.