Jamaine Punzalan

Rescuers walk past the rubble of a collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga province, north of Manila on May 25, 2026. Rescuers said late on May 25 they had ended a two-day search for more than a dozen people believed buried in debris of a collapsed building in the northern Philippines. Ted Aljibe, AFP

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ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1779759419016AFP__20260525__B3YL2NU__v1__MidRes__PhilippinesAccident.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Rescuers walk past the rubble of a collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga province, north of Manila on May 25, 2026. Rescuers said late on May 25 they had ended a two-day search for more than a dozen people believed buried in debris of a collapsed building in the northern Philippines. Ted Aljibe, AFP </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Eighteen people are believed buried in the debris of a collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga, the local government said Tuesday as it ended rescue efforts and shifted to retrieval operations. </p><p>The local government and Bureau of Fire Protection said the tally of the missing was based on reports of relatives who were looking for their loved ones.    </p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F965354259465370%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/25/2-confirmed-dead-18-still-missing-in-pampanga-building-collapse-0735">bodies of four people</a>, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, have so far been pulled from the debris of the nine-storey condominium project that collapsed onto a nearby hotel on Sunday.</p><p>There had been hope earlier on Monday when thermal sensors detected what rescue officials described as<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/24/signs-of-life-detected-rescuers-race-to-save-workers-in-collapsed-angeles-city-building-2231"> &quot;signs of life&quot;</a> in one area of the wreckage. However, no survivors or further bodies were subsequently found, regional fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/25/angeles-lgu-to-shift-to-retrieval-ops-after-no-signs-of-life-detected-in-collapsed-building-2257">&#x27;No signs of life detected&#x27; in collapsed building</a></div><p>The rescue operation was formally declared over on Monday night and the search was suspended overnight before &quot;retrieval operations&quot; begin on Tuesday, she told reporters.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/26/-buhay-ang-kuya-ko-kin-refuse-to-lose-hope-after-angeles-city-building-collapse-rescue-ops-end-0744">&#x27;Buhay ang kuya ko&#x27;: Kin refuse to lose hope after Angeles City building collapse rescue ops end </a></div><p>The Malaysian man, who was a guest in the hotel, and the two construction workers were all found trapped but alive on Sunday.</p><p>However, all three died before they could be pulled from the rubble.</p><p>The fourth confirmed fatality has not yet been identified.</p><p>Sajili said that most of the remaining missing were construction workers who were sleeping at the site at the time.</p><p>Officials said up to 70 people were employed at the construction site, although most had gone home for the weekend.</p><p>Alfredo Albis, 55, told AFP he believed two of his cousins who worked with him at the building site were among the missing.</p><p>&quot;They were working here to earn for their families,&quot; said Albis, who was asleep at a nearby barracks for workers when the structure collapsed.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LACK OF SAFETY GEAR</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ydR0_3sYUZ8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The cause of the collapse is not yet known, but regulators had been monitoring the project.</p><p>Labor department inspectors shut the site down briefly in September 2024 over <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/25/collapsed-pampanga-building-issued-work-stoppage-order-last-year-over-safety-violations-dole-1159">occupational safety standards violations</a>, regional labor department official Geraldine Panlilio said on Monday.</p><p>&quot;Our labor inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,&quot; Panlilio said in an interview on Manila radio station DZMM.</p><p>Its workers &quot;lacked safety gear&quot; such as hard hats, boots, safety belts and lifelines, and worked under poor lighting and with no visible safety signage, she said.</p><p>Construction resumed a month after the shutdown when the contractor complied with safety requirements, Panlilio said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V79nEbRUoBg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2zio6HABriE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Eighteen people are believed buried in the debris of a collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga, the local government said Tuesday as it ended rescue operations and shifted to retrieval.</p>

Eighteen people are believed buried in the debris of a collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga, the local government said Tuesday as it ended rescue operations and shifted to retrieval.

18 still missing in Pampanga building collapse as retrieval ops start

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18 still missing in Pampanga building collapse as retrieval ops start

ABS-CBN News,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 26, 2026 09:42 AM PHT

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Updated May 26, 2026 10:42 AM PHT

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Pampanga

building collapse

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