Eleven people are dead and dozens feared buried under a building that collapsed in the powerful earthquake that struck the Philippines on Monday.
Rescuers are working to get to the survivors stuck under the building in Manila where a four-storey building collapsed in the quake.
The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Manila on Monday, heavily damaging an airport and sending terrified locals fleeing swaying high-rises. The quake was centred on the town of Castillejos, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Manila, geologists said.
Pampanga, where 11 people were killed, suffered the worst of the damage, according to disaster officials. Dozens were injured by falling rubble.
Firefighters, military and civilian rescue teams raced to remove piles of concrete in the town of Porac. During the night, seven people were rescued and four dead bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the commercial building, which had caved in on a ground floor supermarket, officials said.
The death toll is expexted to rise. High-rise buildings in the capital city swayed after the quake struck. Centuries-old churches were also damaged. Many isolated regions have lost power and communications.
The government declared Tuesday a holiday for civil servants in Metro Manila to allow for safety inspections of buildings.
The Philippines is prone to natural disasters, located on the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire", a string of volcanoes and fault lines that arcs round the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
(With inputs from agencies)
