1 Dead, 20 Feared Trapped as Building Under Construction Collapses Near Manila

At least one person has died and about 20 others are feared trapped after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed in Angeles City, north-west of Manila, in the Philippines. Rescue teams have saved 24 people from the site and two others from a nearby hotel damaged by falling debris. The confirmed victim was a 65-year-old Malaysian hotel guest who had communicated with rescuers before being found dead. Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse while emergency workers continue searching through the rubble for survivors.

At least one person has been confirmed dead and around 20 others are feared trapped after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed in the Philippine city of Angeles, triggering a major rescue operation and raising fresh concerns about construction safety standards in the country.
The building suddenly gave way at approximately 3:00 a.m. local time on Sunday (1900 GMT Saturday), sending tonnes of concrete, steel, and scaffolding crashing onto nearby streets and neighbouring structures. The collapse occurred while the building was still under construction, and many of the people believed to be trapped are construction workers who were on site at the time of the incident.
Emergency teams, including firefighters, police officers, medical personnel, and disaster response units, rushed to the scene shortly after the collapse. Rescue workers have been conducting an intensive search-and-rescue operation, carefully navigating unstable debris in the hope of locating survivors.
Authorities said that 24 people were rescued from the collapsed structure, while two additional individuals were pulled to safety from a nearby hotel that sustained damage when debris from the falling building struck the property. Several of those rescued suffered injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment, although officials have not yet released details regarding the severity of their conditions.
Local authorities later confirmed that the first recorded fatality was a 65-year-old Malaysian national who had been staying in the affected hotel near the construction site. According to acting Philippine fire chief Rico Kwan Tiu, the man remained alive for some time after becoming trapped beneath a collapsed section of the hotel and was able to communicate with rescuers by telephone.
Rescue personnel worked tirelessly to reach him, using specialised equipment and carefully removing debris to avoid triggering further collapses. However, despite their efforts, the victim was found dead by the time rescuers managed to recover him.
“When we retrieved him, he was already lifeless,” Tiu told AFP, describing the challenges faced by emergency teams working in dangerous and unstable conditions.
Images and videos from the scene revealed the scale of the destruction. Twisted metal scaffolding, shattered concrete slabs, broken support beams and mangled construction materials were strewn across the area. Large sections of the building appeared to have pancaked onto lower floors, creating compact spaces that make rescue efforts both difficult and dangerous. Green safety netting that once surrounded the construction site hung loosely over piles of rubble, while heavy machinery and rescue workers searched for signs of life beneath the wreckage.
City information officer Jay Pelayo said preliminary observations suggested that sections of the building’s walls and external scaffolding may have failed before the structure collapsed. The resulting debris field created enormous obstacles for rescue teams attempting to access possible survival pockets beneath the ruins.
“There are big chunks of concrete, and we need equipment to lift them up,” Pelayo explained. “That is what is challenging for the rescue right now.”
Authorities have confirmed that at least five individuals remain trapped beneath the debris. Encouragingly, two of them have been able to communicate with rescue personnel, providing valuable information about their location. Officials believe additional people may still be buried under the rubble, though the exact number remains uncertain as emergency teams continue to account for workers and others who may have been present at the site.
Rescuers are using listening devices, thermal imaging equipment, search cameras and heavy lifting machinery in an effort to locate survivors. However, operations have been slowed by the risk of secondary collapses and the sheer volume of debris covering the area.
Witnesses described scenes of panic and confusion in the moments after the collapse. One resident told the Daily Tribune newspaper that she heard a loud rumbling noise resembling an earthquake before the building came crashing down. She said the force of the collapse briefly rendered her unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she found surrounding streets covered in dust, debris and fragments of concrete.
The collapse has shocked residents of Angeles City, a major urban centre located about 90 kilometres northwest of Manila on the island of Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. The city is known for its growing commercial developments, residential projects and tourism industry, making the incident particularly alarming for local communities.
Government investigators have begun examining the site to determine what caused the building to collapse. Authorities are expected to review construction permits, engineering plans, safety inspections and contractor compliance records as part of the investigation. Experts will also assess whether structural weaknesses, design flaws, poor-quality materials, construction errors or regulatory violations contributed to the disaster.
The tragedy has renewed attention on building safety and construction practices in the Philippines. The country has experienced several structural failures and industrial accidents in recent years, often linked to inadequate planning, weak project oversight, poor enforcement of safety regulations and engineering deficiencies.
Earlier this year, another fatal disaster occurred in Cebu when a landfill collapsed, killing 11 waste workers and trapping several others beneath massive amounts of rubbish. Rescue teams spent days searching through the debris before recovering victims and rescuing survivors.
As rescue operations continue in Angeles, families of missing workers and residents anxiously await updates from authorities. Emergency crews remain hopeful that more survivors can be found, but officials acknowledge that the situation remains critical as every passing hour reduces the chances of locating people alive beneath the rubble.
The Philippine government has pledged full support for rescue efforts and promised a thorough investigation into the collapse, with officials vowing to hold accountable anyone found responsible if negligence or safety violations played a role in the disaster.