Philippine quake death toll rises to seven

AFP | Manila

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The death toll from a strong earthquake off the southern Philippines rose to seven yesterday, while rescuers also searched for two people feared buried beneath a landslide.

The 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the Mindanao region mid-afternoon on Friday caused part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse, triggered power cuts and sent people fleeing into the streets. Falling debris from the mall in General Santos City crushed a woman to death, city police captain Ari Noel Cardos told AFP.

Police earlier reported the death of a couple pinned under a collapsing concrete wall in General Santos. Another person was killed by a falling steel structure in the municipality of Glan, in Sarangani province, police officer Paul Mesalido said.