The number of deaths from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit the central Philippines has reached 69, a civil defence official said today.
Thirteen deaths—nine adults and four children—were recorded in the city of Bogo and four more in neighbouring San Remigio, according to the Manila Times newspaper. A rescue official told AFP that three people died in a landslide that swept away homes in the northern part of Cebu.
The television station ABS-CBN reported that four bodies were recovered from the rubble of a collapsed sports centre in San Remigio, while a child was killed when they were crushed by debris in another part of the city.
A video circulating on social media shows the moment of the earthquake on a bridge, with cars and motorcycles struggling to stay upright as the structure swayed violently.
The earthquake occurred at 9:59 p.m. local time (4:59 p.m. Cyprus time) north of Cebu island, causing severe damage to buildings and roads, said Wilson Ramos, head of regional rescue services. “People may be trapped in the rubble,” he added. Rescue operations are being hampered by darkness and continuous aftershocks.
On Bantayan island, a school and a commercial building collapsed, and there was a widespread power outage in many areas. “I felt like we were going to fall over. It’s the first time I’ve experienced something like this,” nurse Agnes Mertsa told AFP, describing scenes of panic with residents running into the streets and her young assistants hiding under a table.
The Philippines is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active zone where tectonic plates converge, resulting in frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
(Information from protothema.gr)
