Angeles City building collapse search continues 24/7; motorcycle, cash box among items found

Search, rescue, and retrieval operations continued Saturday at the site of a building collapse in Angeles City, Pampanga. A motorcycle and cash box were among the items found Friday, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Region 3 (BFP-Region 3) said.

"Continuous na pagki-clear 24/7. Wala pong tigil. Iba't-ibang paraan ang ginagawa nating pag-double check kung mayroon pa tayong maaaring isalba," BFP-Region 3 Public Information Office chief Fire Superintendent Maria Leah Sajili said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(Our clearing operations are continuous 24/7. We do not stop. We use different ways to see if we could still save [a victim].)

The death toll remained at six, while more or less 14 are still missing as of Saturday, Sajili said.

"Ganu'n pa rin po ang ating bilang as of this day (The number is still the same as of this day)," she said.

Sajili added they could not say if the missing persons are all construction workers.

"Hindi kami makapagbibigay kung construction worker lamang ang mga ito... Victim no. 5 at victim no. 6 ay hindi kasama sa construction worker na nawawala. Pagdating sa actual recovery, doon lang natin made-determine," she said.

(We could not say yet if these [missing] are all construction workers. Victims no. 5 and 6 were not among the construction workers missing. We can determine [the identity] during actual recovery.)

"May nakapag-report sa amin na 'yung kanya daw mag-ama na nagbebenta po na mayroong parang push cart sa kalsada na may motor [ay posibleng nadamay]," Sajili said.

(We received a report that a person's relatives who were selling in the area with a push cart and motorcycle may have been among those affected by the building collapse.)

"Kahapon may nakitang mga motorcycle, cash box, at umbrella na nagagamit sa pagtitinda. Indication ito na maaaring pati sila ay nadamay na patuloy naming hinahanap," she added.

(Yesterday, we found a motorcycle, cash box, and an umbrella being used by vendors in selling. This is an indication that maybe they were among the victims we are searching for.)

Regarding the reported movements detected underneath the rubble, Sajili said the K-9 unit of the Philippine Coast Guard has been assisting them in locating the possible source of movement.

However, the movements may not necessarily mean human movements, she added.

The nine-storey building being constructed in Barangay Balibago collapsed before dawn on May 24. —KG, GMA News