CEBU CITY – A 49-year-old woman died while her husband was injured when a riprap wall collapsed on their house during a heavy downpour on Sunday night, Dec. 1, in Barangay Tisa here.
RESCUERS find ways to rescue a couple who was pinned down by a collapsed riprap wall inside their house in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City on Sunday night, Dec.1. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Tisa Barangay Captain)
It took nine hours before rescuers were able to pull out the victims from the rubble.
The incident happened past 6 p.m.
Liberato Batin, 49, was pulled out at 12:25 a.m. and was taken to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
Batin's wife, Elisa, was pulled out from the debris but was declared dead when she was taken to CCMC.
Police Major Timothy Jim Romanillos, chief of the Labangon Police Station, said the couple was in the kitchen preparing for dinner when a riprap owned by Deca Homes collapsed.
Five other family members were in the sala when the tragedy struck.
Romanillos said the victims heard a loud thud and later saw the kitchen already covered by debris from the collapsed riprap.
The other family members, including the couple's two daughters aged nine and 12, were unharmed.
Neighbors tried to save the couple but the lack of heavy equipment prevented them from rescuing the victims.
The wife was still alive when rescuers from the city government arrived.
According to Councilor Joel Garganera, the wife would grimace in pain with a slight movement, making the efforts to pull her out from the rubble extra challenging.