Building under construction in Philippines collapses, leaving 1 dead and 21 trapped

Source: AP

By JIM GOMEZ, AARON FAVILA and JOEAL CALUPITAN
Updated 6:55 AM CDT, May 24, 2026
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ANGELES, Philippines (AP) — A nine-story building under construction in a city north of the Philippine capital collapsed before dawn on Sunday, leaving at least one Malaysian tourist dead and at least 21 mostly workers trapped in the rubble, officials said. Two were located alive but could not be immediately extricated.

At least 24 workers either managed to dash out of the building, where they mostly slept on the ground floor, or were rescued after the it crumbled to the ground around 2:30 a.m. in a crowded neighborhood of budget hotels, cafes, spas and rural houses outside a former U.S. Air Force base, officials said.

A Malaysian tourist died and another guest was injured in a lodging house, which was partly hit by debris from the collapsing building in Angeles City in Pampanga province, Fire Superintendent Maria Lea Sajili said.

Relatives of those trapped under concrete slabs, twisted iron bars and aluminum scaffoldings and other debris prayed and wept as they waited for word from about 700 rescuers gingerly scouring the rubble pail to create space for them to safely move into the collapsed structure.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/philippines-building-collapse-missing-006061ba614cf54656a19c1f4b429877