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Philippine earthquake death toll likely to exceed 200

The death toll from a killer quake in the central Philippines is likely to approach 200 as rescue teams focused on finding dead bodies buried under landslides and fallen structures, an official said on Sunday.

A total of 185 deaths have been confirmed so far from the 7.2 quake that shook the tourist island of Bohol on Tuesday, toppling bridges, shattering roads, causing landslides and reducing historic churches to rubble.

Bohol suffered 172 dead alone with over 120 dead from falling structures, said Augusto Escopia, the island’s information officer.

‘Our conservative estimate is that there are roughly 180 to 185 dead in Bohol alone,’ he said, a day after authorities halted the search for survivors and focused on recovering dead bodies.

The quake also left 13 others dead in the central islands of Cebu and Siquijor, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

The recovery of bodies in Bohol will likely last one more week, said Escopia, adding that reports from some hospitals indicated that there were further fatalities to be counted.

There are also nine more missing in Bohol, he added amid fading hopes they would be found alive.
The biggest problem facing the more than 1.2 million residents of Bohol island is the need for shelter after the quake destroyed or damaged many homes, he added.

‘They (the residents) are afraid to go home because there are still aftershocks. Some have cracks on their walls. They are still afraid to go inside,’ Escopia said.

About 600 kilometers (370 miles) from capital Manila, Bohol is known for its beaches, its rolling ‘Chocolate Hills,’ tiny tarsier primates, and centuries-old Catholic churches, many of which collapsed or sustained heavy damage.
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