Philippines ends rescue operation for 12 missing in building collapse

ANGELES CITY, Philippines: Emergency officials said late on Monday (May 25) they had ended a two-day rescue operation for at least 12 people believed buried in the debris of a collapsed building in the northern Philippines.

The bodies of four people, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, have so far been pulled from the debris of the nine-storey condominium project that collapsed onto a nearby hotel in the city of Angeles north of Manila early on Sunday.

There had been hope earlier on Monday when thermal sensors detected what rescue officials described as “signs of life” in one area of the wreckage. However, no survivors or further bodies were subsequently found, regional fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili said.

The rescue operation was formally declared over on Monday night and the search was suspended overnight before “retrieval operations” begin on Tuesday, she told reporters.

The Malaysian man, who was a guest in the hotel, and the two construction workers were all found trapped but alive on Sunday.

However, all three died before they could be pulled from the rubble.

The fourth confirmed fatality has not yet been identified.