The number of fatalities from the collapse of a nine-story building under construction has increased to 27 after rescue teams recovered two additional bodies from the site on Wednesday evening, according to authorities.
The Unified Command reported that the 26th victim was pulled from the rubble at 6:38 p.m. and was subsequently transferred to the appropriate authorities at 7:14 p.m. for Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) processing.
A few minutes later, at 6:49 p.m., rescuers recovered another body, bringing the death toll to 27. The remains were also turned over for identification procedures at 7:14 p.m.
Earlier on Wednesday, search and retrieval personnel recovered the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th victims during morning operations. The 25th casualty was later found at around 4 p.m., despite persistent rainfall that complicated rescue efforts.
Response teams remain at the site, continuing search, rescue, and retrieval operations while carefully clearing debris and assessing the stability of the surrounding structure.
The building, which was still under construction, collapsed before dawn on May 24 after days of heavy rainfall.
Authorities said 27 individuals survived the incident.
The exact cause of the collapse has yet to be established, and investigators are continuing their probe into the tragedy.