(REUTERS). Rescuers pulled a third body from the rubble on Monday (May 25), more than 24 hours after a building under construction collapsed in Angeles City, north of Manila, raising the death toll to four, with 17 people still missing.

The painstaking manual operation underscored the difficulty of the rescue effort, carried out under scorching heat, with authorities unable to rely on excavators and other machinery for fear that the unstable structure could shift further and bury any survivors deeper beneath the wreckage and rubble.

One of the two victims that were retrieved earlier had a pulse, but later died, Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, said in a phone interview, while another suffered cardiac arrest while still trapped under the rubble.

Among those who died was a 65-year-old Malaysian national whose body was recovered on Sunday from a neighbouring hotel building that had also been affected by the collapse.

Officials said an investigation was now underway into what caused the collapse of the multi-story building, and they are trying to locate the building owner to get answers, including clarity on the number of workers at the site.

Planning records showed the building that collapsed was intended as a nine-story condo-hotel under the approved permit, but a swimming pool was being constructed on an additional 10th floor, authorities said.

Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News