Angeles City building collapse death toll rises to 3

The death toll from the collapse of a building under construction in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga, has climbed to three, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 3 said on Monday.

According to a report by Super Radyo dzBB’s Mark Makalalad, BFP Region 3 spokesperson Fire Superintendent Maria Leah Saijili said rescuers recovered another victim from the rubble amid ongoing search, rescue, and retrieval operations.

“Yung kanina po natin na huling nai-retrieve ay yun yung kasama doon sa dalawang nire-rescue natin sa Sector 1 na hindi po natin malabas kagabi," Saijili said.

(The last person we retrieved was among the two individuals we were trying to rescue in Sector 1 whom we were unable to extricate last night.)

"Actually nagkaroon na siya ng initial na cardiac arrest sa site and because of hindi pa siya nahahawakan ng ating mga doktor, hindi pa natin siya kaagad ma-declare na part of the dead victims,” she added.

(The victim initially suffered cardiac arrest at the site, but since doctors had not yet examined the person, we could not immediately declare them among the fatalities.)

Saijili said the victim was officially brought out of the hot zone at 7:20 a.m. and transported to Rafael Lazatin Hospital.

Authorities said operations remain focused on locating other individuals believed trapped beneath the debris of the nine-story building under construction.

According to Saijili, at least 18 individuals were still unaccounted for, based on lists provided by the site engineer and reports from families of workers who failed to return home after the incident.

Most of those being searched for are construction workers, although a vendor was also reported missing.

Rescuers continued manual clearing and operations due to the unstable condition of the debris. Heavy equipment remained on standby but could not yet be fully deployed because interconnected steel components raised the risk of further collapse if debris was moved improperly.

Authorities were also conducting repeated thermal scans and deploying canine units to detect possible signs of life beneath the rubble.

Saijili said rescue efforts would continue if signs of life were detected. Otherwise, responders would shift to retrieval operations.

Nearby residents had been evacuated as a precaution against a possible further collapse.

The Malaysian embassy was coordinating with local authorities regarding a foreign national who died in the incident.

The building owner has reportedly established communication with the local government.—MCG, GMA News