Mother awaits return of son's remains after deadly Philippines building collapse

As recovery efforts continue following the deadly collapse of a building under construction in Angeles City in the northern Philippines, a grieving mother waits for the remains of her son, hoping to finally take him home after two weeks of uncertainty.

As of Wednesday evening, the death toll from the collapse had risen to 27, with several people still reported missing.

The building collapsed at around 03:00 on May 24, trapping at least 30 people.

Mike Pineda, a parking attendant who witnessed the incident, recalled the terrifying moments when the structure came down.

"Right here in front of Chowking, at around past 2:00, the building suddenly collapsed within five seconds. Then an earthquake followed, like the ground was shaking," he said.

For the families of the victims, the tragedy continues long after the collapse.

Genita Amaro Celeste, whose son was among those killed in the accident, said she has been waiting for two weeks for his remains to be recovered so that she can finally bring him home.

"My son told me that he dreamed of being in the army someday. I really wanted him to fulfill his dreams because all his siblings were married and I wanted a good future for him, but now he's gone," she said.

Celeste said she has not taken part in the identification process at the morgue, fearing she would not be able to bear seeing her son in such a condition. Still, she remains determined to wait until he is found.

"I didn't join the identification of bodies at the morgue because I don't think I could handle seeing him like that, if he really is down there. They said that here, many of the bodies, some have no heads, some have no hands, they are all in pieces. But I said that even if the body is in pieces, even if the head is crushed, we would still recognize my son. That's why I just sent my son there to look. Because if I go there myself, I might end up dying there too. But if they can't recognize him, I will be the one to go. I just want him to be retrieved so we can finally go home and I can bring him with us. We can't just leave him here if he hasn't been retrieved yet. We've been here for so long – two weeks now. I hope he is retrieved whole," she continued.

Joseph Ponce, barangay captain of Balibago in Angeles City, said authorities were still accommodating relatives waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be released.

"Right now, we are still accommodating around 24 individuals from 11 families. They are waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be cremated. The number of retrieved bodies as of today is at 27. So it has exceeded the number they initially expected. What we are hoping for is that these victims will not be neglected, especially since we know they received financial assistance from the local government, but I think that is not enough for them to move on," he said.

Mother awaits return of son's remains after deadly Philippines building collapse

People in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre recalled the horrible scenes of an air strike on Thursday night, saying that the civilians suffer the most in the war.

After the Lebanese and Israeli governments announced a conditional ceasefire, the Israeli military carried out rounds of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, as unresolved disagreements between Israel and Hezbollah continued to stall ceasefire efforts.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported on Friday that Israeli airstrikes hit several locations in southern Lebanon, killing at least 13 people and wounding 15 others.

Ahmad al-Hsein, who runs a restaurant in Tyre, was on the scene when the strike came. He said all the civilian facilities in the area were severely damaged.

"We were here during the air strike, carrying out our humanitarian work, which is a small thing compared with what's happening. We were providing food to the people here, and during the air strike we were here in the restaurant. A civilian facility, a bank, was targeted, and the restaurant, which is also a civilian facility, was affected. There's nothing else. The entire impact was on the area around Jabal Amel Hospital. We don't know what the target was, there’s nothing there. All the wounded are civilians, and the casualties are civilian," he said.

Mahmoud Srour, a displaced from Teir Harfa, helped clear up the debris on the street following the strike.

"The air strike took place at around 22:30. As you can see, the scale of the destruction is immense. They targeted Bank Audi; there's nothing left here, they targeted a bank. The damage is very extensive. This is a civilian area; there are shops and a restaurant, and the bank is located here. Thank God, we were in the shop when the air strike happened, and chaos ensued. Thank God we were not hurt. There were no fatalities here, but there are wounded," he said.

Civilians recall horrible air strike in southern Lebanon