At least 60 people are understood to have died after an offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 collapsed walls of houses and buildings late Tuesday in the Philippines province. The epicentre of the tremor, which was set off by movement in a local fault at a depth of 3 miles, was about 12 miles northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province, where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot said.
The death toll in Bogo, initially reported to be 31, is likely to rise, with the BBC putting it at 60 just after 5.30am GMT. Workers were trying to transport a backhoe to hasten search and rescue efforts in a cluster of shanties in a mountain village hit by a landslide and boulders, he said. Glenn Ursal, another disaster-mitigation officer, said some survivors were brought to a hospital. He added: “It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards.”
At least 12 people died when they were hit by falling ceilings and walls of their houses, some while sleeping, in Medellin town near Bogo, Gemma Villamor, who heads the town’s disaster-mitigation office, told the AP.
In San Remigio town, also near Bogo, five people, consisting of three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child, were killed separately by collapsing walls while trying to flee to safety from a basketball game that was disrupted by the quake, the town’s vice mayor, Alfie Reynes, told the DZMM radio network.
Reynes appealed for food and water, saying San Remigio’s water system was damaged by the earthquake.
Aside from houses in Bogo, the quake damaged a fire station and concrete and asphalt roads, firefighter Rey Cañete said.
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