Ash Wednesday in the Philippines: Church balcony collapse leaves one dead and 53 injured. Part of the floor collapsed, throwing parishioners towards the ground floor.
About 400 people were attending mass for the holiday when the accident occurred. Millions of Filipinos flocked to churches on Ash Wednesday, an important date for the Christian community, which marks the start of Lent in this Catholic bastion of Asia. The other victims, most of them elderly, suffered bruises and other minor injuries, she added.