The tragic incident at St. Peter the Apostle Church in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, during Ash Wednesday left four victims still in critical condition on Thursday.

During the mass, people lined up on the second floor of the said church for the marking of ashes on their foreheads, when it suddenly collapsed, also hurting those on the lower floor.

According to City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Gina Ayson in GMA’s Unang Balita, 55 were recorded injured, and four are still being closely monitored in the hospital.

The four victims still in critical condition are an 82-year-old who has multiple fractures; a 70-year-old with a leg fracture; a 49-year-old with a wrist fracture that needs to undergo surgery; and a 64-year-old who experienced hypertension.

Meanwhile, one fatality was recorded, identified as Luneta Morales, an 80-year-old parishioner and a choir member of another church in Bulacan.

According to Ayson, the collapse happened since the church is old, and the mezzanine that collapsed was made of wood and was infested with termites.

“Actually, no, when it fell [mezzanine], that's just when they saw that there were termites,” the disaster official said when asked if church officials knew beforehand that the mezzanine was infested with termites.

"There was no sign [of termites], even the parish priest was surprised that termites were already infesting the parts of that second floor," she continued, adding that renovation efforts such as repainting are regularly done in the church, which is estimated to be more than 30 years old.

The incident happened around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, during the conduct of a mass celebration for Ash Wednesday in Barangay Tungkong Mangga.

In a statement, Malolos Bishop Dennis Villarojo said that all Bulacan parishes are instructed to conduct inspections in their respective churches, and especially churchgoers are expected to flock during the Lenten Season.

The St. Peter the Apostle Church is closed until further notice, sad Villarojo.