‘Akala ko earthquake’: Angeles City resident in nearby hotel recalls building collapse

PAMPANGA, Philippines – Grace Lego, 33, said her family woke up around 2:30 am on Sunday, May 24, to the rumbling sound of the building beside their hotel collapsing in Angeles City, Pampanga.

“Akala ko earthquake,” Lego told Rappler on Monday, May 25. “Kasi naramdaman ko na nag-sh-shake ‘yung ground.” (I thought it was an earthquake because I felt the ground shake.)

She carried her five-year-old son and woke her partner up. She told him there was an earthquake. When they went out, they found their car trapped under the debris of the collapsed building beside them.

They evacuated the guests occupying five rooms in their hotel, except for the Malaysian guest who was the first casualty recorded in the aftermath of the incident. Lego said the Malaysian guest occupied Room 101 of their hotel.

“Tinry din ng partner ko na pasukin ‘yung room ng isang Malaysian na na-trap, pero hindi na talaga kayang pasukin kasi,” said Lego. “‘Yung mga debris nakaharang na sa hallway, sa pinto niya, tapos ‘yung buong kwarto niya wasak talaga.”

(My partner tried to force entry into the room of the trapped Malaysian but it was impossible. The debris blocked the hallway, the door, and the whole room was destroyed.)

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As of the latest count on Monday, at least four people are dead and 17 are still missing. Twenty-six individuals have been rescued. The nine-story building that collapsed on Sunday was still under construction. Search and rescue operations for workers trapped in the building continue.

Lego said they are coming to terms with the possibility that their hotel will be demolished after the incident. The police and rescuers she talked to told her the building of their hotel was not stable anymore. They only opened last April 22.

Along the street near the collapsed building, the nearby establishments – massage places, a pawnshop, café bar, and salon – have closed down. Rescue teams have taken shelter in tents propped along the street. Caution tapes bar onlookers from the site. In other parts of the city, however, bars, hotels, and restaurants continue business as usual.

The owner of Reign Spa, an establishment in front of the collapsed building, sought help to retrieve documents from her car trapped under debris.

“I can still recall the horrific sound of the building collapsing, the sparks from the live wires, the falling steel, and the moments that felt so unreal,” the owner said in a post online.

“When I stepped out to check my pickup truck, I realized something that deeply moved me. The pickup had taken the impact and somehow served as a barrier, preventing debris and steel from directly hitting the glass windows of Reign Spa.”

As rescue teams work on retrieving the bodies trapped inside, business owners near the site work on salvaging important items.

For Lego, this is the immediate step available to her pending the assessment from Angeles City’s engineer’s office if the building they are leasing can still be repaired.

“Sa ngayon wala pa talagang clear na for demolish siya or pwede pa siya i-repair,” said Lego. “Pero nag-re-ready na kami in case na demolish, so kailangan talaga namin ilabas lahat ng mga gamit namin na iwan pa dyan.”

(As of now, there’s no clear assessment if the building will be demolished or if it can still be repaired. But we’re getting ready in case it’ll be demolished, so we need to retrieve the things we have left.) – Rappler.com