ZAMBOANGA CITY, 18 March 2004 — Three people were killed and two others injured when an old building collapsed yesterday in the southern province of Agusan del Norte, officials said. Four people were missing and believed dead. Radio reports said rescuers were still searching for at least four missing under rubble of the one-story collapsed structure in Nasipit town, 750 kilometers (465 miles) southeast of Manila, the military said. The building, formerly used as office and kiln driers of the Nasipit Lumber Corp., was also being used as temporary shelters by beggars. Most of the victims were scavenging for metal scraps when the building walls suddenly collapsed, police have been quoted as saying. The steel-encased roof of the building came down as scavengers continuously hammered at concrete walls to get scrap steel, the said.
