Philippines ends rescue efforts for 16 missing after building collapse

A nine-storey building under construction collapsed in Angeles city near Manila, killing at least four people. Emergency officials ended a two-day rescue operation for 16 missing people after rescuers found no signs of life beneath the rubble. Four bodies were recovered, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, from debris of a condominium project that fell onto a nearby hotel. Authorities had initially listed 17 missing, but one person contacted officials to confirm he was not in the area at the time. Up to 70 people were employed at the site, though most had gone home for the weekend. Military personnel and working dogs conducted search and rescue before operations were called off.

"Emergency officials in the northern Philippines have ended a two-day rescue operation for 16 people missing after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed, killing at least four people. The focus shifted on Tuesday to recovering the remains of the victims after the bodies of four people, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, were pulled from the debris of the condominium project that collapsed onto a nearby hotel in the city of Angeles, north of Manila, early on Sunday."

"We know how hard this is for you, Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, told a news briefing on Tuesday. 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, she said."

"Authorities called off search and rescue operations late on Monday after rescuers, using life locator equipment, determined there were no longer signs of life beneath 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, Sajili said."

"Officials said up to 70 people were employed at the construction site, although most had gone home for the weekend. Al Jazeera's Barnaby Lo, reporting from Angeles, said the last 48 hours have been a rollercoaster for families of construction workers still believed buried"

Read at www.aljazeera.com