Angeles building collapse: 8th, 9th fatalities found

ANGELES CITY — The death toll from the collapse of a nine-story building in Barangay Balibago rose to nine on Sunday afternoon, May 31, after rescuers recovered two more bodies from beneath the rubble.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the eighth victim was extricated at 2:51 p.m. While operations were ongoing, responders discovered another body nearby. The ninth victim was recovered at 3:43 p.m.

Authorities said no identifying belongings or visual markers were found with the latest victims that could immediately establish their identities.

READ: Fact-finding task force created for Angeles building collapse

The recoveries came hours after another male victim was retrieved from the site at 7:42 a.m.

Prior to Sunday’s recoveries, authorities had confirmed six fatalities, including construction workers Roberto Sabile, 51, and his son Christian Sabile, 26, whose bodies were recovered in separate retrieval operations.

Also among the dead were construction workers Mark Laurence Capungay, 21, and Porperio Alikaway, 66.

Malaysian national Mond Reza Abdullah, 65, who had been staying at a nearby hotel affected by the collapse, was also killed, while another victim remains unidentified.

The under-construction building collapsed before dawn on May 24, triggering large-scale rescue and retrieval operations that are still ongoing, along with parallel investigations into the cause of the tragedy. /mcm