Rescuers recovered three more bodies from the collapsed nine-story condotel in Angeles City, Pampanga, raising the confirmed fatalities to 13, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said Monday.
BFP Central Luzon said at least nine people remain missing from the May 24 collapse as search, rescue, retrieval, and clearing operations continue at the site.
The latest bodies were retrieved at 10:33 p.m. Sunday, 4:12 a.m. Monday, and 12:59 p.m. Monday.
“The 13th confirmed casualty has been extricated from the collapse site,” BFP Central Luzon said in a Facebook post.
BFP Central Luzon spokesperson Superintendent Ma. Leah Sajili said teams are working continuously to locate those still unaccounted for.
“We are doing the combination of search and rescue operation and clearing operation,” Sajili said.
She said the possibility of finding survivors has become slim, but responders remain hopeful.
“It’s small, but we are not losing our hope; we can still find survivors from the collapsed structure,” Sajili said.
She also assured relatives of the missing that responders would continue the operation despite exhaustion.
“We are doing our best to rescue their relatives,” Sajili said.
“If we can’t do that, we’ll make sure we will find their bodies, bring them to you so they will be given proper respect before their burial,” she added.
Sajili said operations would continue “24/7” until all missing victims are accounted for.