The death toll from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the central Philippines rose to 69 on Wednesday, a disaster official said, as authorities mounted a rescue effort to find survivors after one of the country’s strongest quakes in a decade. It was not immediately clear how many people were missing. The hospital in Bogo City near the epicentre of the quake was “overwhelmed”, Civil Defense official Raffy Alejandro told reporters. Many buildings and structures collapsed, including a church that was more than 100 years old.

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