Rescuers inspect a damaged building following an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, on Jun 9, 2026. (Photo: AP/Basilio Sepe)
09 Jun 2026 12:38PM
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines: Rescuers searched the rubble on Tuesday (Jun 9) of a collapsed building in the southern Philippine city of General Santos, the worst hit by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds, to reach two people still believed to be trapped inside.Regional fire officer Edgar Tanawan, who is leading the operation, told Reuters two people had been pulled out alive from the commercial building, housing a grocery store and other businesses, but a third was found dead. Scanners have so far detected no signs of life from the remaining two, he added."It’s difficult to accept, as a mother, that my son is still trapped there,” said Dioslinda Deluvio, distraught as she waited outside the building for news of her son. “I don’t know … it’s very hard to accept.“My only call is to have him retrieved today so we can be at peace," said the 65-year-old mother.
A woman walks past a collapsed building a day after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, in Calumpang, General Santos, southern Philippines, on Jun 9, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Noel Celis)
