MANILA: Eight people died and 60 others sustained injuries after an earthquake and aftershocks struck islands off the north of the Philippines on Saturday morning.
According to disaster officials, an initial quake of magnitude 5.4 that struck the Batanes islands was followed shortly by an aftershock of magnitude 5.9. Another big aftershock struck a little later.
The first quake killed five people while three people were killed in aftershocks, Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the disaster agency, told Reuters.
“It’s traumatic … we’re still feel strong aftershocks,” Edna Gato, a school teacher in Itbayat town, told Reuters.
The national disaster agency said it was sending medical and rescue teams to the islands, about half way between the main Philippine island of Luzon and Taiwan.
(Agencies)
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