The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Sunday, May 24, said it has been coordinating with local disaster officials as rescuers raced to locate dozens of workers feared trapped beneath a collapsed nine-story building under construction in Angeles City, Pampanga.

OCD deputy spokesperson Diego Mariano said the structure gave way around 3 a.m. and as of 9:45 a.m., at least 10 laborers, including the project foreman, were confirmed rescued, all of them were stable and ambulatory.

"As of now, we are still waiting for the official reports. However, as per Angeles City Information Office, SAR [search and rescue] is ongoing and has recorded a total of 10 survivors," Mariano said.

The foreman reportedly warned authorities that between 30 and 40 construction workers were sleeping inside the upper floors and remained trapped deep within the heap of twisted metal and heavy concrete.

Marioano said that the Central Luzon regional disaster risk reduction and management council (RDRRMC III) was coordinating with Angeles City DRRMO in monitoring the incident.

In an update around 12 noon, the local government of Angeles City has a much higher tally of 26 persons pulled from the impact zone: 24 were successfully rescued directly from the pancaked concrete structure while another two were rescued from an adjacent apartelle that caved in when the building came down.

Among those safe were eight passersby and motorists, who also sustained minor injuries during the sudden collapse but are now in stable condition.

A unified command system was established to manage the multi-agency response.

Rescue workers warned that extreme on-scene hazards, such as live electrical wires, were actively slowing down the operations.