Manila, Nov 22 (IANS): The death toll from typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines soared to 5,209 with 1,602 people still missing, an official said here Friday.
The considerable increase in the fatalities came after validation of over a thousand more deaths related to the devastation of super typhoon Haiyan, said Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council, reports Xinhua.
Bodies of additional fatalities were actually recovered over the past five days, he added.
Del Rosario said eastern Visayas registered most of the casualties with 4,919 dead, 22,658 injured and 1,582 missing.
The rest of 290 fatalities came from the other affected regions including Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western and central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga.