Emergency workers recovered an infant from the remains of a collapsed building in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, raising the confirmed death toll to 21, the Bureau of Fire Protection in Central Luzon reported.
The recovery was announced in the context of search, rescue and retrieval work underway on June 2, 2026. Before the infant was extricated as the 21st victim, authorities had reported 20 confirmed deaths and 27 rescues. At that point, no additional people were listed as missing, although personnel continued operating across the collapse site.
The Bureau of Fire Protection, or BFP, provided a detailed sequence for three bodies removed from the rubble on Tuesday afternoon. Responders had located the person designated Victim 18 at 11:10 a.m. As crews worked to create access to that location, they discovered two additional victims at 1:03 p.m., subsequently designated Victims 19 and 20.
Victim 19 was removed at 1:13 p.m. Responders then extricated Victim 18 at 1:17 p.m. and Victim 20 at 1:19 p.m., according to the agency. Those recoveries brought the count to 20 before the infant was later retrieved and recorded as Victim 21.
Debris work continued
Although nobody else was reported missing when the earlier total was released, the BFP said its personnel were maintaining search and retrieval activity throughout the affected area. The continuation of that work preceded the later recovery of the infant and showed that teams had not ended their examination of the rubble when the missing-person count reached zero.
Heavy equipment was being used to remove debris and open routes into the collapse site. The agency said spotters were stationed at selected positions to direct equipment operators and observe conditions on the ground. That arrangement was intended to keep debris removal controlled, protect emergency personnel and avoid disturbing places where victims could potentially be located.
the cited account distinguishes between people rescued from the collapse and victims recovered after their deaths. It records 27 rescues alongside the rising fatality count, but does not provide individual conditions or identities for those rescued. The infant is identified only by age category, with no name or other personal information given.
The evidence also does not state why the building collapsed, when the structural failure began, what type of building was involved or whether any official inquiry had reached conclusions. The BFP information instead centers on the operational record: the order in which victims were found and extricated, the totals announced at successive stages, and the measures used while crews moved through unstable debris.
By the latest reported recovery, the toll stood at 21. Responders’ work combined manual search and retrieval with machine-assisted debris clearance, while spotters monitored the process and guided access creation within the site in Barangay Balibago.
