Angeles building collapse: Rescuers pull 2 from rubble as 17 remain missing

Two people were pulled alive from the mangled concrete and twisted steel of a collapsed building in Angeles, Philippines, on May 25, as rescuers pressed on with a painstaking search for 17 others still reported missing, most of them construction workers who had been on duty at the site. ^[2]

Maria Leah Sajili, describing the operation, said building-collapse rescues are “very challenging,” as crews work through unstable debris while racing to reach any survivors. She said investigators have opened a probe into what caused the structure to give way, adding a new urgency to questions about how the site was being built and monitored. ^[2]

For nearby residents, the disaster has been both sudden and intimate. Alfredo Albis said he had been asleep about five meters from the building when it came down, jolting the neighborhood awake. “I have two cousins who are still trapped there. They were working here to earn for their families and [they] are missing,” he said. ^[2]

As heavy equipment and hand crews continued to dig through the rubble on May 25, families gathered for updates, clinging to the possibility that more people could still be found. Sajili said the challenges of the rescue underscore why the unfolding investigation into the collapse will matter long after the search ends. ^[1][2]