21 lacking as nine-story constructing collapses and crumbles with ‘voices’ heard beneath rubble
Rescuers are racing to find 21 missing people after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed in Angeles City, Philippines, following a fierce thunderstorm, with voices heard in the rubble
The structure, which was under construction, collapsed early Sunday morning during a thunderstorm(Image: ROLEX DELA PENA/EPA/Shutterstock)
At least 21 individuals are unaccounted for after a nine-storey building under construction in the Philippines crumbled on Sunday morning.
The structure gave way following a severe thunderstorm in Angeles City, located in the country’s Pampanga province. Rescuers have reported “hearing voices” amidst the debris, while 24 workers either managed to escape or were rescued, according to police and other officials.
Over 100 police officers and government staff are frantically working to rescue those believed to be still trapped under the rubble, stated Police Brigadier General Jess Mendez. Mendez and other officials at the site reported no immediate fatalities, but some of those who escaped safely did sustain injuries.
The majority of the 21 missing individuals are thought to be workers from the collapsed building, said Francis Pangilinan, head of Angeles City’s disaster mitigation office, who was present at the scene, reports the Mirror.
Two others, including a Malaysian tourist, were injured when their accommodation was struck by debris from the fallen building, officials reported.
Rescue teams, comprising firefighters, police and disaster-response units, are using their hands and sniffer dogs in a perilous scramble to locate trapped survivors, revealed Public Works Secretary Vinzon Dizon.
“There are some signs of life … There are voices that are being heard,” Dizon said, adding that rescuers were proceeding with extreme caution.
“It’s a very very unstable site and the priority is to get the people out.”
Angeles City was home to one of the biggest US Air Force bases beyond American shores until its closure in the early 1990s, which helped transform Angeles and surrounding cities and towns into entertainment and commercial centres in Luzon, the Philippines’ primary northern region.
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