Rescue efforts are underway in the central Philippines after a powerful earthquake struck Cebu island, leaving at least 69 people dead and hundreds injured, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The 6.9-magnitude quake, which hit near the city of Bogo late Tuesday, flattened buildings, cracked roads, and sent residents scrambling for safety.
Many victims were crushed beneath collapsed concrete walls and structures.
“Many of them were pinned down by debris, which caused their death,” said Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, who gave the updated death toll.
Bogo accounted for 30 of the deaths, while San Remigio, Medellin, Tabogon, Sogod, and Tabuelan also reported casualties.
Hospitals in Cebu are stretched beyond capacity, with patients treated under makeshift tents outside facilities as aftershocks continued overnight.
“I’m already struggling, but what we are doing is necessary to help our patients,” said Teddy Fontillas, 56, who has been helping transfer the injured to other hospitals without rest.
Among the survivors, 39-year-old Richard Guion described how his teenage son rescued him and his wife from their collapsed home. “When the cement wall came down, I called out to him. If not for him, we wouldn’t be alive,” he said.
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Search operations are ongoing. Firefighters have been digging for hours through the rubble of a collapsed motel in Bogo, where two receptionists and a child are feared trapped. “We cannot give up,” said fireman Erwin Castaneda. “We are talking about lives here.”
President Ferdinand Marcos has pledged swift government aid, expressing condolences to the bereaved families.
Dramatic videos circulating online showed a Catholic church’s belfry crumbling on Bantayan island and a Cebu bridge swaying violently during the quake.
The Cebu provincial government has appealed for medical volunteers to join the emergency response, as over 180 people are confirmed injured and numbers continue to rise.
The Philippines, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is highly prone to earthquakes.
While tremors occur almost daily, Tuesday night’s disaster underscores the unpredictability and deadly force of major quakes in the region.