9-story building collapses in Philippines, at least 21 missing

Rescue crews worked through twisted steel, broken slabs and hanging green netting in Angeles City after a nine-story building under construction collapsed before dawn, leaving at least 21 people missing and turning a crowded commercial strip into an urgent search zone.

About 700 rescuers, including firefighters, police and disaster-response teams, pushed into the unstable site in Barangay Balibago along Teodoro Street, where some responders said they could hear voices from below the debris. Officials said two trapped people were alive and communicating with rescuers, but they could not be freed immediately because the pile of concrete and iron bars remained too dangerous to shift quickly.

At least 24 people were pulled out alive, including a Malaysian national, and several of the rescued workers suffered injuries. A Malaysian tourist died after debris struck nearby lodging, and another guest was hurt. The missing were believed to be mostly workers, some of whom had been sleeping on the building’s ground floor when the structure gave way during a fierce thunderstorm with heavy rain and wind.

The collapse happened in a dense corridor of budget hotels, cafes, spas and homes near the former Clark Air Base area, a reminder that construction failures in Angeles City can quickly become public-safety emergencies far beyond one job site. The city sits about 80 kilometers north of Metro Manila and has grown into a busy commercial and entertainment hub in northern Luzon, with development pressing into neighborhoods where people live, work and sleep beside active construction.

The building was intended to be a nine-story condo-hotel under the approved permit, but officials said a 10th floor for a pool was being built. That detail puts the focus squarely on permitting, inspection and contractor oversight, especially in a fast-growing urban corridor where vertical projects are multiplying. The cause of the collapse remained under investigation as authorities assessed how a structure approved for one design ended up under another.

Local and national officials converged on the scene, including Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III, city information officer Jay Pelayo and police officials led by Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez. The Bureau of Fire Protection, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Public Works and Highways were among the agencies coordinating the search, which began with about 100 police and government personnel and expanded as more rescuers arrived.

By midday, the site still looked precarious, with hands and sniffer dogs used to probe the wreckage. As the rescue effort continued, the bigger question shifted from how many were still trapped to how a high-rise project in one of Pampanga’s busiest districts was allowed to fail so catastrophically.