PCG deploys K9 rescue teams to help search for survivors in collapsed building in Pampanga
At A Glance
- Six Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) K9 rescue teams joined the search for missing construction workers after a nine-story building that was under construction collapsed in Angeles City, Pampanga, an official said on Monday, May 25.
(Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) K9 rescue teams joined the search for missing construction workers after a nine-story building that was under construction collapsed in Angeles City, Pampanga, an official said on Monday, May 25.
PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the Coast Guard K9 teams were mobilized on Sunday, May 24, and immediately, they found one cadaver.
In total, authorities in Angeles City and the Coast Guard said at least four bodies were retrieved, including a Malaysian tourist, from the site of the collapsed building.
Meanwhile, at least 17 more people were feared trapped beneath the rubble.
The PCG said the Coast Guard Working Dogs (CGWDs) arrived at the site at 10:45 a.m. on May 24, approximately an hour after the incident was reported at 9:30 a.m., and about seven hours after the incident occurred at 3 a.m.
The PCG teams were composed of six K9 units and 12 search and rescue personnel.
After a safety and operational briefing, they began searching Sector 1 at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday.
The working dogs, “Summit,” “Theo,” and “Travis” later gave a “positive indication” in one section of the debris field and engineers and joint search teams moved into the identified area to carry out extraction operations.
The dogs had been used during the 2025 Iruhin West landslide in Tagaytay City where they helped rescuers locate victims buried under soil and debris.
At around 3:40 a.m. Monday, PCG responders recovered one cadaver from the rubble, which brought the death toll to four.
Local authorities in Angeles City earlier announced that three bodies had been found by other search and rescue teams responding to the incident.
“The Philippine Coast Guard remains fully committed to supporting inter-agency humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations to ensure the safety and welfare of affected families,” Cayabyab said.