Philippines earthquake death toll rises to 61

MANILA — The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the southern Philippines earlier this week has risen to 61, authorities said Saturday.The Office of Civil Defense said the number of fatalities increased after additional bodies were recovered from disaster-hit communities.Local broadcaster GMA News reported that 33 people remain missing, while 1,221 others have been injured.Search, rescue and retrieval operations are ongoing as emergency crews continue efforts to locate survivors and recover victims trapped beneath collapsed buildings and landslides.According to the Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center, the earthquake affected more than 553,000 people across the Mindanao region.Authorities said 9,393 people are currently staying in evacuation centers, while more than 54,000 others have sought temporary shelter with relatives and friends outside official facilities.Initial assessments showed that 8,865 homes were destroyed and another 36,691 sustained partial damage.Rescue efforts have been complicated by continuing aftershocks, unstable structures and damaged roads, limiting access to some affected communities.The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao earlier this week, triggering widespread panic and causing extensive damage to homes, schools, hospitals and public infrastructure.General Santos City and parts of Sarangani province were among the hardest-hit areas, prompting authorities to declare states of calamity to accelerate relief and recovery efforts.