Philippines quakes kill 8

Eight people were killed and dozens injured when a series of earthquakes struck islands in the far northern Philippines early yesterday, toppling historic buildings and sending terrified locals fleeing their homes.

The tremors hit the province of Batanes, a group of sparsely populated islets north of the nation’s largest Luzon island, tearing deep cracks in roads and forcing the evacuation of a hospital.

Authorities said some of the dead, including two babies under a year old, were crushed by the walls of their own homes.

Many people were still asleep when the first tremor struck around 4:15 am (2015 GMT Friday), followed just under four hours later by a second, stronger jolt.

The biggest of the quakes -- of magnitude 5.4 and 5.9 -- struck within hours of each other, according to the US Geological Survey.

At least three aftershocks followed, which prompted edgy locals to spend hours in town squares waiting for the string of quakes to end.

Authorities said two people were reported missing, though they have not completed a search of the area because debris was blocking some roads.

Raul de Sagon, mayor of worst-hit Itbayat town, told AFP that eight people had been killed and around 100 others were hurt, including seven serious cases that had to be flown out.

Itbayat’s hospital was damaged and patients had to be wheeled to safety, while at least one high school and the area’s 19th-century church were heavily damaged.