Live chicken recovered from Angeles City building collapse

A live chicken was retrieved in the collapse of a building under construction in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga on Thursday morning, the Bureau Fire Protection (BFP) Central Luzon said.

In an update, the BFP Central Luzon said the chicken was recovered under the rubble at 8:58 a.m. during search and retrieval operations.

“A live chicken, believed to belong to one of the workers affected by the incident, was recovered by responders during ongoing search and retrieval operations at the collapse site,” the agency said.

“The chicken is believed to have triggered several life detector activations in the area over the past few days,” it added.

As of Wednesday evening, the BFP Central Luzon said the death toll in the incident stood at 27, while the rescued individuals were also 27.

The nine-storey structure collapsed before dawn on May 24.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), there were possible violations of occupational safety and health standards at the construction site.

The construction project had previously been subjected to a work stoppage order issued by DOLE Central Luzon because of safety deficiencies.

Construction works later resumed after the company reportedly complied with the agency’s requirement.

Lawyers of the owner and contractor of the structure earlier showed up at a press conference a week after the incident.

One of the lawyers said the owner is willing to help the victims and seeks to conduct an independent investigation into the incident.

"Una po naming kinausap iyon pong Office of the Mayor po. Sila po ‘yung puwedeng tumulong sa amin at ipinaliwanag din po namin kung kakailangan pong pinansyal na tulong," said lawyer Willie Rivera, a representative of the building owner.

(We first spoke with the Office of the Mayor. They are the ones who can help us, and we explained to them that should financial help be needed.)

“Hindi po tatakbo si contractor sa mga assistance na hihingiin ng families. Ang number one priority nila ngayon ay to help the affected families,” said lawyer Nicolai Manguerra, who serves as representative of the contractor.

(The contractor will not run away from the assistance that families would request. Their number one priority is to help the affected families.)

Investigations into the incident are ongoing. — VDV, GMA News