Search and rescue operations intensified Thursday for at least 59 people, mostly fishermen, who remained missing at sea after a devastating typhoon hit the Philippines, dpa reported.
At least 23 people were confirmed killed in the aftermath of Typhoon Conson which hit a wide area of the main northern island of Luzon, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
Among the missing were 18 fishermen aboard several fishing boats off the north-eastern province of Quezon, where Conson made landfall late Tuesday.
Relief officials expected the death toll to rise as rescuers begin to contact hard-to-reach areas badly hit by Conson, which packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 150 kph.
Among the fatalities was a 35-year-old mother and her 2-year-old daughter who were pinned down when a mango tree fell on their house in Trece Martirez City, just outside the Philippine capital.
The NDCC said close to 10,000 people were forced to flee their homes at the height of Conson, which uprooted trees, toppled electric posts, snapped transmission wires and caused power outages in most of Luzon.
Metropolitan Manila, the country's capital, was at a standstill on Wednesday as fallen trees and electric posts and other debris littered the streets.
More than 3,000 houses were also damaged by Conson and initial estimated damage to infrastructure and agriculture was at 22.29 million pesos ( 497,000 dollars).
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