Hopes of locating more survivors are fading two days after a landslide swept away buses carrying dozens of miners in a mining network in the southern Philippines, and the volatile soil posed an added danger to rescuers.
As of late Thursday afternoon, the official number of those missing was 49, 10 dead and more than 30 injured from the landslide in this mountainous section of Davao de Oro province, according to disaster officials. Two buses used for transporting mine workers were buried in the moving mud, along with some buildings. Heavy rain had unleashed the landslide.
Edward Macapili, a spokesman for the local disaster unit in the town of Maco where the landslide occurred at 7 p.m. Tuesday, announced 49 as the official number of people missing. National police, meanwhile, said there could be more than twice as many.
Macapili said rescuers were trying to remain optimistic, noting that a survivor emerged from the rubble on Wednesday after being trapped for 11 hours.
“We’re not wasting hope that there are possibly still other people alive,” he said when asked by reporters about it, though he added that efforts had already shifted to “search and recovery. “
“We have 10 dead,” he said, stressing that rescuers were racing against the clock because “every moment counts when it comes to human lives. “
BenarNews journalists who accompanied the rescuers said they were asked to exercise caution as the terrain moved. While earth-moving apparatus was sent to the site, the first ones had to dig with their hands and shovels.
Tears in a mountain site
For Julius Santolan, a 36-year-old miner, each and every moment that passed was critical. His wife, Meeryniza, and their three children, aged between four and nine, were missing. She broke down in tears as she recalled the moments leading up to her circle of family members disappeared.
He said he was in a neighbor’s space when the earth crashed into the grid with “a sound of thunder coming from the mountain. “
This followed an eerie calm and when he turned to look at his house, all he could see was brown mud.
“I haven’t slept or had an appetite for 3 days. From where I am, our space here is still covered in mud,” he said as he accompanied rescuers on the second day of operations.
“I hope they’re all together in heaven now,” Santolan said as he hoped they had survived.
Nearby, Jenny Cano, 35, widow of a mini-bus driver contracted by the Apex Mining Co. whose body was recovered on Wednesday, said her husband used to call her minutes before he returned home from work.
But on Tuesday, the call came from 32-year-old Jundie.
“His cell phone was already inaccessible. Then his relative informed me that he was gone and showed that his frame was here,” Cano said.
Crews carried the remains of the victims to a tent with a black tarp to give survivors a sense of privacy.
Lt. Col. Wildemar Tiu, commander of the Davao del Norte provincial police, said Philippine Coast Guard dogs roamed the mound of dirt that once served as a dwelling.
“We are doing everything we can for all the missing children and residents,” he said.
Jon Bonifacio, national coordinator of the environmental organization Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (KPNE), for an investigation into APEX’s mining operations.
“Once again, we see how the effects of climate change intersect with negligence and impunity in the Philippines,” he said.
“We call for prompt and sufficiently good assistance for the affected families and a swift and thorough investigation into the scope of duty of Apex Mining and other large-scale mining operations, Array. . . in relation to the landslide and major floods affecting the region. Bonifacio said.
APEX issued a statement saying it was collaborating with the government to locate and rescue the missing people, the official Philippine news agency reported. He said the landslide occurred in an area where buses were transporting personnel to the mine site and not to the site itself.
“Just before the landslide, 4 60-seater buses and a jeep with a capacity of 36 more people were waiting for the departing employees. One bus had departed for Mawab while the others were still waiting when the landslide occurred, with its debris covering the terminal,” he said, according to the ANP.
The Philippines, along the Pacific Ring of Fire and in the Pacific Typhoon Belt, is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
A combination of mountainous terrain and heavy rainfall also makes the archipelago particularly susceptible to landslides.
In September 2018, more than 70 people died in the northern mining town of Itogon, following a landslide caused by Typhoon Mangkhut.
The nation’s deadliest landslide occurred on Feb. 17, 2006, following a 10-day downpour in the province of Southern Leyte. It buried the entire community of Guinsaugon village there, killing more than 1,000 people.
Add your comment by filling out the form below in plain text. Comments are approved by a moderator and may be edited in accordance with RFA’s Terms of Service. Comments will not appear in real-time. RFA is not to blame for the content of the posts. Be respectful of other people’s points of view and stick to the facts.