NDRRMC call off search for quake survivors

Rescuers recover an unidentified man under the rubbles at a fish port in Pasil, Cebu, central Philippines Tuesday Oct. 15, 2013. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Philippines rescuers on Saturday called off the search for survivors after a powerful earthquake on the tourist island of Bohol that killed at least 180 people.

“The rescue operations have ended and instead we are now conducting recovery operations,” said disaster chief Eduardo del Rosario.

“We are still looking for 13 others. Our responders are now on site to recover their bodies,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director told a news conference.

The island of about one million people, one of the country’s main tourist destinations, suffered landslides, fallen bridges, shattered roads and collapsed buildings in Tuesday’s 7.2-magnitude quake.

About 600 kilometres (370 miles) from capital Manila, Bohol is known for its beaches, its rolling “Chocolate Hills”, tiny tarsier primates, and centuries-old Catholic churches, many of which collapsed or sustained heavy damage.

No fatalities were reported among foreign tourists.

Bohol governor Edgar Chatto told the news conference broadcast by Philippine radio stations that power had been restored on the island while major roads blocked by landslides had re-opened, speeding up the delivery of relief.

The disaster council said the quake displaced nearly 600,000 people. Many are still in makeshift tents, terrorised by aftershocks and unwilling to return home.