MANILA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Rescue teams in the southern
Philippines searched for signs of life on Monday in a collapsed
shopping centre after a powerful earthquake that killed at least
three people and wounded dozens more.
Disaster response officials said five people were believed
to be trapped in the rubble of the Southern Trade Shopping
Centre in Padada, a town on the island of Mindanao located about
20 kms (12 miles) from the epicentre of Sunday's quake.
Rescuers were using chainsaws and thermal imaging equipment
to look for survivors, but said there was little hope of finding
anyone alive.
"It's very distressing. There's a very slim chance of
finding survivors," regional disaster official Christopher Tan
told CNN Philippines.
A six-year-old girl was killed when the wall of her house
collapsed on her during the 6.8 magnitude quake, the fifth to
hit the region since October. Rescuers also recovered the bodies
of two women during a night disrupted by several aftershocks.
A further 31 people were injured, said Francis Irag,
regional information officer.
Television footage early on Monday showed fire and rescue
personnel using torches to search the outside of the shopping
centre, a small two-storey building, in darkness. Roads were
blocked by rubble and mangled metal.
There were widespread power outages and minor damage to more
than 300 homes and eight government buildings, according to the
disaster agency's report late on Sunday.
President Rodrigo Duterte and his family were in Davao City
when the quake struck some 61 km (38 miles) away, but were not
harmed.
The Philippines sits on the geologically active Pacific
"Ring of Fire" and experiences frequent tremors.
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