Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 18, 2019) – The death toll from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Davao del Sur rose to 11, disaster response officials said Wednesday night.

The fatalities were recorded in the regions of Northern Mindanao and SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani and General Santos City), the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council said in its 6 pm report Wednesday.

Among the fatalities were three victims pinned under a collapsed South Grocery store in Padada, Davao del Sur, Office of Civil Defense Davao Region said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the number of people hurt also remained at 111, the NDRRMC said in its report. One is also missing due to the strong quake, it added.

The latest update also showed that a total of 826 aftershocks were recorded, of which 364 were plotted and 86 were felt, disaster response officials said.

Retrieval operations stopped

The retrieval operations in the quake-damaged South Grocery store has been called off since late Tuesday as there were no more signs of life, according to Padada Disaster Risk Reduction officer Luke Caduyas said.

Rescuers have also pulled out of the site, leaving armed police guarding the rubble against looters.

Meanwhile, valuable items weren’t retrieved in the affected shop yet, Caduyas quoted the owner as saying.

Display of faith after disaster

In a show of faith, Padada's Catholic residents on Wednesday still attended the Simbang Gabi, a series of nine pre-dawn masses on the days leading up to Christmas. It’s one of the most distinctive Christmas traditions in the Philippines.

However, the mass was held in a nearby gymnasium, as the Catholic residents’ place of worship in Padada – the 66-year-old Saint Michael’s Parish – suffered damage from three earlier quakes that hit Mindanao in the last two months. It was the powerful 6.9-magnitude quake that caused the most damage to the structure.

Parish priest Fr. Jupiter Canoy told CNN Philippines they will wait for the structural engineers’ advice on what to do next with the church.

But it looks like the remaining traditional masses cannot be held there.

Paolo Barcelon and Catherine A. Modesto contributed to this report