The quake, the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, struck off the coast of Mindanao island at 7:37 a.m. local time, causing widespread panic and disruption across several southern provinces.

Authorities said the death toll rose after at least 17 fatalities were reported in Sarangani province, where a landslide buried homes in the mountainous town of Glan.Rene Punzalan, a disaster mitigation official in Sarangani, said 13 villagers were killed in the landslide, while four others died elsewhere in the province.

The new casualties brought the overall death toll from the earthquake to at least 32.The earthquake damaged buildings, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of residents. Philippine disaster officials said most fatalities were caused by collapsing structures, landslides and falling debris across the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Davao Occidental and nearby Balut Island.

In General Santos City, a regional commercial hub with a population of more than 700,000, several buildings were severely damaged or collapsed, including a popular fast-food restaurant. Seven people were reported killed in the city, while police said at least 12 others remained missing.

Search and rescue operations were underway at damaged structures, including a warehouse and commercial buildings, according to emergency responders.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas and directed national disaster agencies to mobilize emergency assistance.

Officials said more than 100 students suffered minor injuries or fainted during school flag-raising ceremonies as the quake struck shortly after public schools reopened following the summer break.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the earthquake occurred near Maasim town in Sarangani province at a depth of about 33 kilometers.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 55 kilometers, differences that are common during initial assessments.Authorities recorded multiple aftershocks, including tremors reaching magnitude 6.5, and warned residents to avoid returning to damaged buildings until structural inspections are completed.The quake generated tsunami warnings across parts of the Pacific.

Waves of up to 1.4 meters were recorded along sections of the Philippine coastline, while smaller waves were detected in Indonesia, Palau and Japan.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the broader tsunami threat had largely passed, prompting Philippine authorities to lift evacuation warnings by mid-afternoon.

The earthquake temporarily shut General Santos International Airport and led to the cancellation of 17 domestic flights, according to aviation authorities.Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries and frequently experiences major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones.

Jaslinda Saludin, 49, was discovered on Saturday in a forested area near the town of Tapah in Malaysia’s Perak state, several kilometers from the location where she was last seen, local media reported.

The experienced hiker had been missing since embarking on a section of the challenging Trans Spencer Chapman trail, a 34-kilometer route that traverses rugged terrain along the Titiwangsa mountain range, which forms the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia.

Saludin was last seen after leaving a rest camp alone to ascend Gunung Batu Putih, commonly known as White Rock Mountain. When she failed to return, authorities launched a large-scale search involving helicopters, specialized rescue teams and indigenous community trackers familiar with the dense rainforest landscape.

Her disappearance quickly became one of Malaysia’s most closely followed rescue operations, generating extensive media coverage and widespread public concern.

According to local reports, Saludin was located by fishermen on Saturday afternoon. She told rescuers she survived by drinking water from rivers and streams and eating berries and other edible plants found in the forest.

Friends and relatives expressed astonishment that she had managed to endure nearly two weeks in the harsh environment.

“When we heard that she had been found safe, it felt like our prayers had been answered. It is truly a miracle,” her friend Hishammuddin Ahmad said.

Following her rescue, Saludin was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.

Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad, assistant director of operations at the Perak Fire and Rescue Department, told local media that she suffered relatively minor injuries, including insect bites and wounds to her head, despite her extended ordeal in the wilderness.

The successful rescue highlighted the role played by indigenous Malaysian communities, whose knowledge of the terrain assisted search teams navigating the dense forests of central Malaysia.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed the outcome and thanked all those involved in the operation. In a message posted on social media, he expressed gratitude to rescuers and community members who participated in efforts to locate the missing hiker.

Authorities have not yet provided further details on how Saludin became separated from the trail or how she survived for nearly two weeks before being found.

Five of the seven villagers initially stranded inside the cave have already been rescued, while multinational teams from Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Finland, Japan, Indonesia, France and Australia continue efforts to reach the remaining two.

Rescuers are pumping water from the cave and exploring possible dry passages and air shafts that could provide access to the missing individuals, who are believed to be trapped deeper inside the flooded system.

The group reportedly entered the cave in search of valuable minerals before a flash flood sealed their exit, triggering a major international rescue operation.

The men have been trapped for 10 days inside the cave after entering the site to search for valuable minerals before rising floodwaters blocked their exit. Five survivors were located alive on Wednesday, while two members of the group remain unaccounted for.
Rescuers successfully evacuated the first survivor on Friday after a complex operation through submerged and narrow cave passages.

Officials said the remaining four men were not yet ready for extraction and that efforts were continuing to lower water levels and improve conditions for a safe evacuation.

“One person has made it out safely, and we will not stop until the remaining four make it home too,” Thai cave diver Norrased Palasing, who is participating in the operation, said in a social media post on Saturday.
Video footage released by rescuers showed the first survivor emerging from flooded tunnels with assistance from divers before being wrapped in a thermal blanket and moved to safety.

Authorities did not identify which of the five survivors was evacuated.

The trapped villagers have been supplied with water, soft food and emergency blankets, though footage recorded inside the cave indicated their physical condition had deteriorated during the prolonged ordeal.

The rescue operation has drawn specialists from Laos, Thailand, Japan and Malaysia, with Indonesian, French and Australian experts also reported to have joined the effort. Several members of the international team previously participated in the high-profile 2018 rescue of a youth football team trapped in a cave in northern Thailand.

Rescuers face difficult conditions inside the cave system. According to Thai rescue worker Kengkaj Bongkawong, teams must navigate more than 200 meters of narrow, twisting, flooded passages before reaching a submerged tunnel that leads to the trapped men.

The operation is complicated by poor visibility, confined spaces and the challenge of guiding survivors with no diving experience through underwater sections of the cave. Video released by rescuers showed divers instructing the trapped men on the use of breathing equipment and underwater survival techniques ahead of their evacuation.

Search efforts for the two missing villagers are expected to focus on deeper sections of the cave beyond the area where the survivors were found.

Rescue officials said the area is heavily flooded, increasing the risks for divers conducting the search.
The cave is located in the mountainous province of Xaisomboun, approximately 120 kilometers north of the Lao capital, Vientiane.

Mount Dukono, located on Halmahera island in eastern Indonesia, erupted on Friday morning, sending volcanic ash as high as 10 kilometers into the atmosphere, according to Indonesia’s volcanology authorities.

Local police said the victims included two Singaporean nationals and one Indonesian hiker who were inside a restricted exclusion zone near the crater when the eruption occurred. Indonesia’s search and rescue agency has continued to classify the three as missing while recovery efforts remain underway.Seventeen other climbers, including additional Singaporean nationals, were evacuated safely from the mountain on Friday.

The search operation was temporarily suspended late Friday because of continued eruptions and unstable conditions around the crater area. Authorities resumed the mission on Saturday with more than 100 personnel, including police officers, soldiers and drone operators.“We are racing in this search.

When the situation and condition is safe, we will approach the crater, and when an eruption occurs, we must secure all search personnel,” rescue official Iwan Ramdani said in a statement recorded near the Dukono monitoring station in Mamuya village.

Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said the volcano erupted several more times on Saturday, including one blast that produced an ash column reaching around three kilometers above the summit.

National disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said preliminary information indicated the bodies of the two Singaporean hikers were located approximately 20 to 30 meters from the crater rim. The location of the Indonesian hiker remained unknown.

Singapore’s foreign ministry said it was coordinating with its embassy in Jakarta to assist affected citizens and their families, according to local media reports.Authorities said the hikers had entered an area subject to a four-kilometer exclusion zone imposed around the crater since December 2024.

The restriction remains in place because of persistent volcanic activity at Mount Dukono, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes.The volcano has remained at level two on Indonesia’s four-tier alert system since 2008. Officials said warning signs and public advisories had instructed visitors to avoid the restricted zone.

Indonesia sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region of intense seismic and volcanic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates. The archipelago has nearly 130 active volcanoes and experiences frequent eruptions and earthquakes.

The incident occurred off the coast near Tobruk, where the vessel had been attempting to carry migrants toward Europe before overturning. Six bodies were recovered on Saturday after washing ashore, according to local security officials.

A total of 31 people were still unaccounted for, with search operations ongoing, the IOM said. The survivors were among a group believed to include migrants from Egypt and Sudan, officials added.

Libya remains a major transit hub for migrants seeking to reach Europe, with many undertaking perilous journeys across both desert and the Mediterranean Sea to escape conflict, instability and economic hardship.

According to United Nations data, more than 900,000 migrants are currently present across Libya’s municipalities, underscoring the scale of migration flows through the country.

The defence ministry said earlier that the aircraft went down after experiencing a technical failure while carrying out “routine duty,” without providing further details on the nature of the malfunction or the mission profile.

Authorities said rescue teams were continuing efforts to locate the final missing individual, following the recovery of six bodies from the crash site. No timeline was given for the completion of the search operation.

Officials did not disclose the identities or nationalities of those on board, nor did they specify whether the helicopter was military or civilian-operated.investigation into cause underwayThe incident is under investigation, with authorities expected to examine technical and operational factors behind the crash.

No additional information was released regarding weather conditions or flight data at the time of the crash.

Helicopter accidents in maritime zones typically involve coordinated responses from defence and interior agencies, particularly in cases involving offshore operations or patrol duties.