DHAKA: The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippine island of Bohol on Wednesday rose to 99, as rescuers struggled to reach patients in a collapsed hospital.

Centuries-old stone churches crumbled and wide areas were without power.

Bohol police chief Dennis Agustin said 77 of the deaths came from the province. At least 15 others died in nearby Cebu province and another on Siquijor Island.

The quake struck at 8.12am and was centred about 33km below Carmen city, where many small buildings collapsed.

Many roads and bridges were reported damaged, making rescue operations difficult.

But historic churches dating from the Spanish colonial period suffered the most.

Among them was the country’s oldest, the 16th-century Basilica of the Holy Child in Cebu, which lost its bell tower, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1302 HRS, OCT 16, 2013
SR/JCK