Up to 60 dead in Philippine quake: rescuers

Up to 60 people were killed in a powerful quake that struck the central Philippines, a senior rescue official said Wednesday.

"We are receiving additional numbers of reported casualties so this thing is very fluid. We are receiving reports (that) as high as 60 individuals are reported to have perished in this earthquake," Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator of the government's Office of Civil Defence told reporters in Manila.

The shallow quake struck off Bogo, a city of 90,000 near the northern tip of the populous island of Cebu late Tuesday, collapsing buildings and tearing up roads.