At least one dead in Pampanga building collapse, 21 missing

ANGELES, Philippines- At least one person was confirmed dead after a building under construction collapsed in the Philippines on Sunday, authorities said, as rescuers scoured the rubble for 21 people listed as missing.

Officials said an investigation had been launched into what caused the collapse of the multi-storey building in the city of Angeles, north of the capital, Manila.

Rescuers at the scene could be seen clambering over a mound of concrete slabs and mangled steel as they searched for survivors. They used trained rescue dogs, heartbeat detection devices and heavy equipment to sift through the debris.

RESCUE EFFORTS CONTINUE

Authorities said the person confirmed to have died was a 65-year-old Malaysian national whose body had been recovered from a neighboring building - a hotel - that had also been affected by the collapse.

Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, told a press briefing that among the 21 people reported missing, five people were confirmed trapped. Two of the five were communicating with rescuers, but the status of the others was not immediately clear.

Rescue efforts were continuing, but Sajili warned that operations would become more challenging after dark.

Officials told reporters that planning records showed the building was intended as a nine-storey condo-hotel under the approved permit, but that a swimming pool was being constructed on a 10th floor.

(Reporting by Jay Ereno and Noel Celis; Additional reporting by Karen Lema and Eloisa Lopez; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William Mallard and Helen Popper)