Philippines earthquake toll rises as dig continues for landslide casualties

Rescuers have found no further survivors among dozens of people buried by landslides on a central Philippine island after an earthquake. The death toll has climbed to 15, with more than 70 people missing.

Houses flattened in remote villages on Negros island that have been cut off by fallen bridges and damaged roads

The 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Monday also collapsed bridges and damaged roads on Negros island. Soldiers and firefighters had to hike into mountains to reach remote villages. Most of the confirmed deaths were in Planas village, a part of Guihulngan town, where about 30 houses were flattened.

The Guihulngan mayor, Ernesto Reyes, said crews were using earthmoving equipment in the search for casualties.

The damage may be worse than officials first realised because the quake cut off communications to some villages, Reyes said. "We have no water and power because electric posts were toppled. Many of our roads were damaged, including bridges, and stores are closed. We're isolated."

In the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, an unknown number of people were trapped under about 100 houses.

The president, Benigno Aquino, sent air force helicopters and navy and coastguard vessels to the aid of rescuers, some of whom had been digging with picks and shovels. Workers were clearing roads and fixing and bridges to bring in equipment, food and medicine.

The undersea quake was centred 44 miles north of Dumaguete, capital of Negros Oriental province, about 400 miles south-east of the nation's capital, Manila.

The Negros Oriental police chief, Edward Carranza, said at least 73 people remained missing in the province.

The casualties could top a 2004 quake on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, in which 78 people died, about half of them in a quake-triggered tsunami. A local tsunami alert was issued following Monday's quake but was soon cancelled.

Reyes said 13 residents died and at least 29 remained missing in the landslide in Planas, where an army platoon was digging for survivors. Meanwhile the landslide had blocked a mountain river that was threatening to back up and swamp houses along its banks. Residents had been told to leave.

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 February 2012 05.08 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/07/philippines-earthquake-toll-landslide

Philippine quake kills 43, dozens missing

Rescuers in the Philippines are digging through rubble with shovels and their bare hands after a powerful earthquake triggered landslides, collapsed homes and killed dozens of people.

The 6.8-magnitude quake hit a narrow strait between the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu around lunchtime on Monday with more than 200 aftershocks, some nearly as strong, causing further panic throughout the day.

Local military chiefs said 43 people were confirmed killed but officials warned the death toll may rise.

Dozens of others are feared injured or are missing with landslides having blocked roads for rescuers in mountainous areas.

"Heavy equipment we've requested from the provincial government has not arrived yet, because the roads and bridges are impassable," said Senior Inspector Alvin Futalan, police chief of Guihulngan town on Negros that was among the most heavily damaged.

"We are using our hands and shovels to search in the rubble," he told AFP.

Thirty-nine people were reported killed in Guihulngan, a coastal city of 100,000 people flanked by mountains that was close to the quake's epicentre.

The city's public market, courthouse and private homes in the area had collapsed or were damaged, while landslides buried some houses completely, according to Futalan.

He said the city's overwhelmed 42-man police rescue squad had been joined by hundreds of army troops and volunteers in clearing debris as they raced against time to find people still believed missing.

"The army (troops) had to walk about 50km from the last stop reachable by vehicle to reach us," Futalan said.

Guihulngan is about 90km to the north of Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental province that covers the southeastern edge of Negros where the worst impacts of the quake were felt.

With rescuers still to reach remote hinterland communities, Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo said he feared there could be more unreported casualties.

"Sadly, we expect the death could still rise," Degamo told AFP.

Degamo said telephone communications in some parts were also cut off, leaving information from remote regions unobtainable.

He said the public was still in a state of shock and fearful of returning to their homes after dozens of aftershocks.

"We've also had to stop our search efforts from time to time and run to safety because of the aftershocks," he said.

Cebu, the Philippines' second biggest city with 2.3 million residents and a popular tourist destination, was 50km from the epicentre and shook violently during the initial tremor but no deaths were reported there.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a belt around the Pacific Ocean where friction between shifting tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.

February 7, 2012 - 12:14PM

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/philippine-quake-kills-43-dozens-missing-20120207-1r297.html

Lahore Building Collapse: Death Toll Set To Rise

Two more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of a factory that collapsed in Pakistan, raising the death toll to 17.

The three-storey building in Lahore, which used to manufacture veterinary medicines, was destroyed after a suspected boiler and gas cylinder explosion.

Rescue workers have spent the night digging through the debris with their bare hands, hammers, axes and chisels.

"We hope to clear most of the rubble by tonight," rescue chief Rizwan Naseer said.

He added that workers were digging tunnels under the rubble to pull out more injured and dead bodies.

"It is a very slow and difficult operation," he said.
"We have to be very careful because it involves human lives."

At least 13 people have been pulled out alive and 17 bodies found - that of 11 women, three young girls and three boys between the ages of 12 and 16.

The death toll is expected to rise further with dozens of people still believed to be trapped under the concrete mass.

Police said the factory was illegal. Local residents said it had been shut down twice since 2008, but that the owners re-opened the premises each time.

"The owners violated the court orders and broke the seals," administration official Ahad Cheema said.

The accident at the Orient Labs (Private) Limited factory, in the Multan Road area of the city, has highlighted poor safety procedures among Pakistani manufacturers and the use of child labour.

9:23am UK, Tuesday February 07, 2012

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16164654