Dozens still missing as death toll from Philippine landslide hits 30

[News_Editor]

Dozens still missing as death toll from Philippine landslide hits 30

2012-01-09 07:11:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll from a rain-triggered landslide at a gold mining site in the southern Philippines on Thursday has reached at least 30, emergency officials confirmed on Monday. Dozens more remain missing.

Benito Ramos, the Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said rescue workers had recovered 30 bodies as of early Monday morning. At least 38 others have been reported missing.

The landslide happened at around 3 a.m. local time on Thursday following days of continuous rain at a hilly portion of Sitio Diat 1 to 700 Gold Panning Area and Diat 2 Panning Area in Barangay Napnapan Pantukan, which is located in the province of Compostela Valley on Mindanao.

The landslide swept away several houses made of light material where miners reside. More than 150 people were initially said to be missing, but officials on Friday reduced that number to just 5. On Monday, Ramos said the number had been increased to 38 but noted that four people who were earlier reported missing have since been found alive.

In addition to the fatalities, sixteen people were also injured as a result of the landslide. Six of them remain at the Davao Regional Hospital for treatment, NDRRMC reported.

Landslides are not uncommon during the rainy season in the Philippines. As many as 23 people were killed in April 2011 when a landslide occurred in the same area.

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