"Rescue operations are difficult"..19 missing due to a building collapse in the Philippines

led Building collapse under construction at PhilippinesOn Saturday night, 19 people were missing, according to what officials and witnesses reported.

The building located in the city of Angeles, near the capital, Manila, collapsed around 3:00 am (19:00 Saturday GMT), causing severe damage to a neighboring building, according to sources.

James Bernardo, a 30-year-old delivery worker, told AFP that he had just finished delivering a food order on the same street when it collapsed. The building.

He narrated "Suddenly a very loud sound was heard nearby, and when I looked I realized that the building had collapsed"

A video clip filmed by Bernardo shows a huge pile of twisted steel beams, electricity poles and cement blocks blocking the street, while other witnesses take pictures with their mobile phones.

Debris of the building collapse

Ingles City is located about 80 kilometers north of Manila, and municipal spokesman Jay Pelayo explained that people who were at the workshop site were stuck among the debris when the building and the scaffolding surrounding it collapsed.
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He said "There are 19 workers who are usually on duty in this area, and they are the ones we are currently trying to locate".

He added "There are huge cement blocks and we need equipment to lift them, which is what makes rescue operations difficult at the moment"

Preliminary statistics from the municipality indicate that 24 people were rescued from under the rubble, in addition to the recovery of two people from an apartment hotel that was damaged as a result of the building’s collapse, Pelayo said. "We hope that the 19 workers are among this number".

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