Quake kills 93 in Philippines

Quake kills 93  in Philippines
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Quake Kills 93 in Philippines, earthquake, earthquake In Philippines. The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippine island of Bohol on Tuesday rose to 93, as rescuers struggled to reach patients in a collapsed hospital.

The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippine island of Bohol on Tuesday rose to 93, as rescuers struggled to reach patients in a collapsed hospital. Centuries-old stone churches crumbled and wide areas were without power. Bohol police chief Dennis Agustin said 77 of the deaths came from the province. At least 15 others died in nearby Cebu province and another on Siquijor Island. The quake struck at 8-12 a.m. and was centered about 33 km below Carmen city, where many small buildings collapsed.

The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippines rose to 93, police said on Tuesday, as more reports trickled in about toppled buildings and historic churches near the epicenter.

Bohol police chief Dennis Agustin said that 77 of the deaths came from the province, where the quake hit near the town of Carmen. At least 15 others died in nearby Cebu province and another on Siquijor Island.

The quake struck at 8:12 am and was centered about 33 kilometers below Carmen on Bohol Island, where many buildings collapsed, roads cracked up and bridges fell. Extensive damage also hit densely populated Cebu city, across a narrow strait from Bohol, causing deaths when a building in the port and the roof of a market area collapsed.

The quake set off two stampedes in nearby cities. When it struck, people gathered in a gym in Cebu rushed outside in a panic, crushing five people to death and injuring eight others, said Neil Sanchez, provincial disaster management officer.

"We ran out of the building, and outside, we hugged trees because the tremors were so strong," said Vilma Yorong, a provincial government employee in Bohol. "When the shaking stopped, I ran to the street and there I saw several injured people. Some were saying their church has collapsed," she told The Associated Press by phone.

As fear set in, Yorong and the others ran up a mountain, afraid a tsunami would follow the quake. "Minutes after the earthquake, people were pushing each other to go up the hill," she said.

But the quake was centered inland and did not cause a tsunami. Offices and schools were closed for a national holiday, the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which may have saved lives.

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