Search and rescue operations continue in the Philippines after emergency crews recovered two additional bodies from a collapsed construction site, raising the fatality count to three people, authorities announced Monday.
Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, confirmed in a telephone interview that one victim showed vital signs during extraction but subsequently passed away, while the second person went into cardiac arrest while still buried in the debris.
The multi-story structure under construction came down in Angeles, a city located north of Manila, the nation’s capital. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine what triggered the building’s collapse.
Emergency teams are working to extract another body from the wreckage, though Sajili noted it won’t be included in the official count until recovery is complete.
Thermal imaging equipment has detected breathing patterns and heartbeats underneath the collapsed structure, suggesting additional survivors may be trapped, according to Sajili.
Seventeen individuals remain unaccounted for, with the majority being construction workers who were documented as present at the worksite when the incident occurred, Sajili reported.
The first fatality was a 65-year-old Malaysian citizen whose remains were found Sunday in an adjacent hotel structure that was also impacted by the collapse.
Building permits showed the structure was approved as a nine-story condominium-hotel, but construction crews were adding a swimming pool to an unauthorized tenth level, officials revealed.
Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin informed media that local authorities are attempting to contact the property owner for answers, including verification of how many workers were present during the collapse.
Relatives of the missing workers have expressed mounting anger and impatience over the speed of rescue efforts.
Lea Casilao, who made the journey from Manila, said she simply wants consistent updates regarding her husband, a construction worker believed to be buried in the rubble.
“My youngest child keeps asking, but I do not have answers,” the 47-year-old said.
Lorena Angcao, 50, shared similar concerns, stating officials should provide regular information to waiting families.
Angcao explained that her brother and sister-in-law, who operated as vendors close to the construction site, are among the missing persons. “They can’t feel what we’re feeling,” she said.
