Philippines: 34 injured as 2nd floor of church collapses on Ash Wednesday

Manila: Thirty-four people were injured after the second floor of a packed Roman Catholic Church in Bulacan province, north of Manila, collapsed on Wednesday, a disaster-response official said.

Gina Ayson, head of the San Jose del Monte City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said the accident occurred in the morning as Catholics packed the church to celebrate Ash Wednesday.

Ayson said no one died from the accident, and that 34 people suffered minor bruises and shoulder pain.

"The floor that collapsed was made of wood," Ayson told a radio interview.