Cebu earthquake deaths rise to 73; search and rescue ops end —OCD

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said that the search, rescue, and retrieval operations for the victims of the Cebu earthquake have ended.

The death toll due to the magnitude 6.9 earthquake has risen to 73.

According to Emil Sumangil’s report on “Saksi” on Thursday, all missing individuals are accounted for. 

But before the termination of the operations, responders had a hard time looking for the victims as they needed to use jackhammers and other heavy equipment. 

Among the victims retrieved was a boy who was crushed by a portion of their two-storey pension house. Responders also retrieved the body of his mother. 

Also one of the fatalities is the son of Gemma Destura, who was a referee in a basketball match at the San Remigio Sports Complex, which was damaged by the earthquake. 

Responders found her son’s body on Thursday. 

One of the deaths was 17-year-old Lady, who witnesses said died when she returned to her home to try to save her mother and infant sibling. 

Meanwhile, patients in Cebu Provincial Hospital are still outside the facility despite being declared safe by structural engineers. However, the patients are still afraid to go back inside their homes due to the aftershocks. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News