Woman dies after accident at Pope Mass

Police say a church volunteer has died after she was hit by scaffolding following a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in the central Philippine city of Tacloban.

Regional police chief Asher Dolina says the 27-year-old woman was a volunteer with Catholic Relief Services and was among about 150,000 people who attended the rain-drenched religious ceremonies Saturday close to Tacloban's seaside airport.

A Vatican spokesman says the pope has been informed about the woman's death.

The pope visited Tacloban to comfort victims of a deadly 2013 typhoon.

ABS-CBN television cited the medical director of the hospital where the woman was taken as saying she died from a skull fracture.

Local media reported the scaffolding was used as a loudspeaker platform and was toppled by a sudden gust of wind.