Three people were crushed by a collapsed building in the town of Porac, according to provincial governor Lilia Pineda. Two others victims, an elderly woman and her grandchiled, were killed in a building collapse in the town of Lubao.

At least eight people were killed when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Philippines' main island of Luzon on Monday and officials feared dozens could be trapped in the rubble of a collapsed commercial building.

The quake hit 60 km (37 miles) northwest of the capital, Manila, disrupting air, rail and road transport and causing some damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The province of Pampanga was worst hit. Eight people were killed and about 20 injured, provincial governor Lilia Pineda said by telephone, citing information from disaster officials.

Rescuers were using heavy duty equipment and search dogs to try to reach people trapped after a four-storey building went down, crushing the ground-floor supermarket, she said. [...]

Pampanga's international airport at Clark, a former U.S. military base, was closed and scores of flights were cancelled after damage to parts of the facility including check-in areas.

Large cracks appeared on provincial roads and electricity poles were felled.

Rescue teams in Manila were preparing to reinforce efforts to reach people trapped in Pampanga. The government urged people to be calm as rumours of greater death and destruction gained traction online.

"We urge them to refrain from spreading disinformation in social media that may cause undue alarm, panic and stress," said presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo.

In Manila, the quake, shortly after 5 p.m., caused tall buildings to sway for several minutes in the main business districts.

"We got nervous, we got dizzy. I ran downstairs with three kids," said Arlene Puno, a domestic helper in a high-rise apartment in the Makati financial centre.

Elevated rail services were halted and workers were evacuated from offices and condominiums, sending a flood of people onto sidewalks and into bus queues and adding more chaos to roads that are among the world's most congested. [...]

Mark Genesis Samodio, 23, a maintenance worker at a Makati condominium in the capital, said the quake's impact was unusual, even for a city that has grown used to them.

"I was sitting down then it shook so strong I thought I was being rocked in a cradle," he said.

A powerful earthquake shook the northern Philippines on Monday, leaving at least 11 people dead in collapsed buildings, municipal and disaster relief officials said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake had registered a magnitude of 6.1 and had been centered near the town of Castillejos in Zambales Province, west of Manila. It struck shortly after 5 p.m., as government offices and private businesses were closing for the day.

In the town of Porac, northwest of Manila, five people were reported crushed to death after a wall in a four-story supermarket collapsed, RJ Mago, a spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told a local radio station.

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