(Eagle News)–Authorities on Thursday, Oct. 31, said it found signs of life in a Davao condominium complex that sustained heavy damage following the 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Mindanao.
Rodrigo Bustillo, the city’s disaster risk reduction management operation and warning officer, made the conclusion after a rescue team went to the second floor of Ecoland 4000 developed by DMCI.
“When we tapped the ground, meron din silang narinig na parang nagrespond,” Bustillo said.
He said prior to this, dogs who were sent to the area also responded as if there was someone in the room.
He said a check of the closed-circuit television camera also showed no one went out of room 221 as the ground shook.
Bustillo said they have already sent in a “life detection apparatus” and have asked for all generators to be turned off so the apparatus could detect any sound in the building.
“Ang ating munang concern yung mga tao sa loob, kung meron,” Bustillo said.
Earlier, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte said nine people were hurt in the incident.
Bustillo confirmed that those injured were tenants of the building, which had, based on information from the Office of the Building Official, been served a notice relative to its structural integrity, Bustillo said.
Bustillo said he also informed the condominium management to evacuate the building after an inspection following the strong earthquake on Tuesday, Oct. 29, yielded cracks in the building’s structural columns.
