Article #50463

7.8-magnitude quake hit the southern island of Mindanao killing at least 55 people and leaving a trail of destruction

It was just before midnight when the rescue team pulled the body from the rubble of a grocery store destroyed by the most powerful quake to hit the Philippines in half a century. The family wailed at the sight.

“While tragic, it offered the family a painful consolation,” said Rene Baliong, the head of the search and rescue team. “They have a body to bury.”