Angeles building collapse death toll rises to 5
MANILA, Philippines — Authorities retrieved another dead body from the rubble of the collapsed building in Angeles City on Thursday morning, May 28, raising the death toll to five.
“As of 7:57 a.m, May 28, 2026, the body of one male victim has been recovered, making it this incident's 5th casualty,” the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 3 announced.
The victim was transported to the City Health Office in Angeles for identification, according to the Angeles City Public Information Office.
A cellular phone recovered near the body, which authorities believe belongs to the victim, was also turned over to the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) for investigation.
“As of this posting, Search and Rescue, Retrieval and Clearing Operations, as well as the management of the dead and missing, remain ongoing under the Unified Command Management Option,” the city’s public information office said.
Authorities shifted to search and retrieval operations on May 27 after announcing that no signs of life were detected at the incident site.
However, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on May 28 that search and rescue operations will continue to look for missing victims.
“It is still a search and rescue operation. Hindi pa po tayo nawawalan ng pag-asa na may buhay pa sa loob”, Remulla said.
As of Thursday, 15 remain missing and 26 have been rescued. It was earlier reported that workers were asleep inside the nine-story under-construction building when it collapsed at 3 a.m. on May 24.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) flagged the presence of sleeping quarters inside the construction site as one of several possible violations of occupational safety and health standards connected to the incident.
A work stoppage order had previously been issued by the DOLE Region 3 office against the construction of the building, according to Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino.
Tolentino has already suspended Region 3 Director Geraldine Panlilio as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.
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