The tremors reached magnitudes 5.4 and 5.9 respectively. No tsunami warning was issued. People died in their sleep under their collapsed homes. At least 60 people were injured.
Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Two earthquakes, magnitudes 5.4 and 5.9, struck Batanes province, an archipelago in the north of the country, this morning, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens more. The authorities have not issued a tsunami warning.
According to Mayor Raul de Sagon, around 60 people were hurt. Many residents were at home when the earthquakes struck.
"We saw houses shaking,” said Police Sergeant Uzi Villa. “Some of the walls of the houses collapsed and fell on the victims. Some people died because they were sleeping soundly since it was still early."
The Philippine Red Cross is already at work. Some of the images it posted on social media show houses reduced to rubble.
The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", one of the most seismically active areas in the world.