The death toll from an earthquake in the Philippines rose to 144 on Wednesday as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Nearly 3 million people were affected by the 7.2 magnitude quake on Tuesday, which caused landslides and widespread damage to infrastructure in the tourist destinations of Bohol Island and the nearby Cebu islands.

The number of injured rose to almost 300, with at least 23 people missing.

The national disaster agency said at least 134 of the dead were on Bohol Island, 630 km south of the capital, Manila, which took the brunt of the quake. Officials feared the toll would rise as communications with remote areas were re-established.

"I think this is a growing number," Lloyd Lopez, mayor of Loon, Bohol province, told a Philippine radio station. "Yesterday, we had a partial communications blackout.

"The roads are blocked by big boulders," Lopez said, referring to villages that have been cut off.

Mobile phone links from the country's main provider had been restored but a rival provider still had to fix some of its damaged equipment, a state telecommunications official said.

Many of the millions hit by the quake spent the night outdoors because of aftershocks, including patients at some hospitals.

Reuters