THE Angeles City government has decided to stop search and rescue operation in a collapsed building but netizens are hoping that survivors could still be found. (FB)
The Angeles City government on Monday night stopped search and rescue operations after no more signs of life were detected in the collapsed nine-story building.
Four people were killed, 26 were rescued alive, and 17 are still missing in the tragedy.
Authorities will go on retrieval operations Tuesday morning.
“At exactly 8:27 p.m., the Unified Command System (UCS) officially terminated the ongoing Search and Rescue Operations at the collapse site,” the city government said in a Facebook post.
“The decision was reached following the final assessment conducted using a life locator by the team from the Pasig City local government unit, which consistently indicated no signs of life within the affected area.
“Based on these findings, the Incident Command System (ICS) had made the decision to cease the rescue efforts.
“Beginning tomorrow morning, operations will transition from search and rescue to retrieval and clearing operations.
An initial Incident Action Plan (IAP) for the next phase of operations has been discussed and Angeles City Mayor Carmelo “Jon” Lazatin II ordered retrieval teams to continue exercising the utmost respect, dignity, and proper handling of the victims’ remains throughout the recovery process.
People thanked authorities for their efforts but some are hoping that search operation would continue in the hope of finding more survivors.
A NATIVE dog appeared unscathed from the rubble of a collapsed building in Angeles City on Monday. (FB)
Meanwhile, responders rescued a native dog after it appeared from the rubble during search and rescue operations in the building on Monday.
The dog, whose owner is yet to be identified and could be one of the victims or survivors, will undergo checkup from the Angeles City Veterinary Office.
Netizens hoped that it could be a sign that people are still alive underneath the rubble amid the halt in search operations.