Philippines suspends search for 16 missing as building collapse recovery begins

Emergency officials in the northern Philippines have concluded a two-day rescue operation for 16 people missing after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed in the city of Angeles, north of Manila. The incident, which occurred early on Sunday, killed at least four people, including a Malaysian man and two construction workers. Authorities called off the search and rescue operation late on Monday after determining there were no longer signs of life beneath the rubble, shifting the focus to recovering the remains of the victims.

Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, addressed the media on Tuesday, acknowledging the emotional toll on the families involved. “We know how hard this is for you,” Sajili told a news briefing. “We sympathise with what you are going through. Rest assured, we did everything we could to save lives, and now we have to move forward.” The bodies of four people were pulled from the debris of the condominium project, which collapsed onto a nearby hotel.

The search had been complicated by fluctuating signals from the site. On Sunday, rescuers detected signs of life from two individuals; however, one was found dead and the other died shortly after being freed. On Monday afternoon, thermal sensors detected signs of life in the same area, but authorities theorised these heartbeats may have originated from animals in the rubble. Seventeen people had originally been listed as missing, but rescue officials said one of them contacted officials on Monday to confirm he had not been in the area at the time.

Officials estimated up to 70 people were employed at the construction site, though most had left for the weekend. Alfredo Albis, 55, reported that two of his cousins, who worked at the site, were among the missing. “They were working here to earn for their families,” said Albis, who was asleep at a nearby barracks for workers when the structure collapsed.

The human cost of the disaster was highlighted by Lea Casilao, whose husband remains missing. She described the scene as a “tangle of concrete, mangled metal, and collapsed scaffolding.” Casilao said she and her husband had planned to meet at the construction site on Sunday afternoon, with her husband supposed to pick her up. When she was unable to reach him, she went straight to the site and saw the devastation. “My hope of still finding him alive has collapsed,” she told Reuters.