Philippines earthquake death toll rises to 72 as survivors recall moment tragedy struck

When firefighters brought out the body of his 4-year-old son in a bag from a budget hotel demolished by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake in the central Philippines, Isagani Gelig stooped down and gently stroked the black cadaver bag for several minutes, trying to feel his child’s remains inside for the last time.

A bag containing the body of Gelig’s wife, the Condor Pension House’s receptionist, was carried out next. She had worked there at night while taking care of their son, John. A rescuer handed him a cellphone found with her body and he nodded a confirmation that it was hers.

Gelig and his family had frantically called after the powerful earthquake shook the city of Bogo in Cebu province Tuesday night, but she never picked up.

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“I went around the rubble and kept calling out their names,” Gelig told The Associated Press beside the hotel ruins, where he and rescuers discovered their remains pinned together in the first-floor rubble.

The death toll from the earthquake rose to at least 72 people Thursday with nearly 300 injured. Disaster officials said there have not been reports of additional missing people.

More than 170,000 people were affected, including many who have refused to return home because they were traumatized and fearful of aftershocks.

The earthquake damaged or destroyed 87 buildings and nearly 600 houses in Bogo, a relatively new and progressive coastal city of about 90,000, and outlying towns. Bridges and concrete roads were damaged and a seaport in Bogo collapsed.

The quake was triggered around 10 p.m. by a shallow undersea fault line that Filipino seismologists said has not moved for at least 400 years.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to Bogo on Thursday to assess the damage and offer aid and support to survivors while mourning with the families of the victims. Just days ago, the president was in the central region after a fierce storm left at least 37 people dead and lashed more than half a million people, including in Cebu province.

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Countries offer condolences and support

The United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, offered assistance following the earthquake. Several other countries, including China and Japan, expressed condolences.

“Japan always stands with the Philippines in overcoming this time of difficulties,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a message to Marcos.

One of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

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The archipelago also is lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year, making disaster response a major task of the government and volunteer groups.

Victims and survivors share harrowing stories

Shortly after the earthquake ravaged Bogo, the Red Cross tried to call up one of its full-time volunteers who lived in the city.

Ian Ho, 49, was a highly trained first responder. When he did not answer, a Red Cross team was deployed.

His house had crumbled and he was found inside, buried in the rubble while embracing his 14-year-old son, who was injured. The teen survived, Red Cross Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang said.

“He chose to be the shield of his son,” Pang said.

“This is the kind of people that we have, lifesavers with an innate instinct to help other people. In this case, the last person that he saved was his son.”

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While most people were at home when the quake struck, Bryan Sinangote was watching a basketball game with less than 100 spectators in San Remigio town, just outside Bogo. Everybody froze.

When the up-and down shaking became intense, everybody dashed out of the gym in panic, the 49-year-old driver said.

A gymnasium ceiling collapsed, killing three Coast Guard personnel and a firefighter.

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Sinangote said he tried to roll away but was partly trapped. He was later pulled free by members of the Coast Guard and treated for face and arm injuries.

It was not his first brush with death. He recalled how Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, destroyed his house in San Remigio in 2013.

Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages and caused ships to run aground and smash into houses in the central Philippines.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear what happened to Bogo city,” Sinangote said, adding that Filipinos have no option but to learn to live side by side with calamities.

“After Typhoon Haiyan destroyed my house, I built it back in one year. We just have to be prepared for anything.”