Deadly New Quake Hits South Philippines

A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Thursday, crushing a man under falling debris and sparking searches of seriously damaged buildings that had already been rattled by two previous deadly tremors.

The 6.5 magnitude quake hit the island of Mindanao, the US Geological Survey said, causing locals to run to safety in the same area where a strong tremor killed eight people on Tuesday.

The powerful shaking caused serious damage to a condominium building in the major southern city of Davao, which was about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the epicentre.

At least eight people were hurt at the building, and rescuers had launched a search to determine if residents might be trapped inside, police told AFP.

A collapsed structure in another town crushed and killed a local official who was inside to help with an improvised medical treatment centre set up after the previous quakes.

A hotel partially collapsed in another area, but a disaster official told AFP the building had already been evacuated.

Locals have been left terrified by a string of powerful quakes, and hundreds of aftershocks since the first powerful tremor struck on October 16.