Hundreds of rescue workers are still searching for dozens of people trapped and buried in a mining site in the town of Itogon, Benguet after it was hit by a massive landslide caused by typhoon Ompong over the weekend.
As of 6am today, at least 34 were confirmed dead while 42 are still missing in Itogon alone, said Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque in a press briefing in La Trinidad, Benguet earlier.
Local media reports said most of the fatalities and missing were small-scale miners trapped in a bunkhouse inside the mining site in Barangay Ucab.
Roque said the search and retrieval operations will not stop until all survivors are rescued, and bodies retrieved.
The Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) already deployed a search and rescue platoon yesterday to assist in the search for survivors in Barangay Ucab, the site of the massive landslide.
“The SAF Search and Rescue Unit is equipped with 2 units Radar Life Detector, ropes, digging tools and other SAR basic equipment. It is capable of rescue operations in collapsed structures and major emergency incidents,” PNP said in a statement.
Dozens of small-scale miners and their families reportedly sought shelter in an abandoned mining site in Barangay Ucab owned by Benguet Corp. Local media said they took shelter in a bunkhouse turned chapel inside the site during the onslaught of the typhoon which then triggered a massive landslide that buried the area.
Many areas in Benguet are declared landslide prone areas, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said before typhoon Ompong hit the province, the local government tried to evacuate the residents there, mostly scale miners and their families, but they refused to leave. Palangdan said the residents told them that they would turn the chapel inside the mining site into an evacuation center.
“That area was declared a dangerous area, so you should move out. Alam mo po sinabi ng mga tao roon? Tinawanan ang mga kapulisan natin. Tinawanan at ipinakita ang kanilang old bunkhouse na noon ay ginagamit na opisina ng benguet corporation. Pero ang small scale miners doon ay ginawang chapel. At sinabing doon sila mag-evacuate kung darating si Ompong,” Palangdan said during the press briefing with Roque in La Trinidad.
Local officials said one month of continuous rainfall in the province of Benguet caused the ground to soften, which may have caused the soil to erode.
Photo Courtesy of UNTV News and Rescue
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