Manila, Oct. 3 -- The number of deaths in Tuesday's magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the central Philippines has been lowered to 68 from 72 as the number of injured people rose to 559, according to the latest data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Friday.

The Office of Civil Defence (OCD), the NDRRMC's implementing arm, said the latest death toll was based on the Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) cluster of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

"The MDM is where the dead are stringently accounted for," said Diego Mariano, officer-in-charge of the Civil Defence Communications and Advocacy Division.

"Please take note that the numbers may increase or decrease as validation of th...