21 missing as landslide kills 3
Source: Agencies |
April 24, 2011, Sunday
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FILIPINO rescuers who dug by hand to save people buried by a landslide were losing hope of finding 21 still missing in the disaster that killed at least three people in a remote gold mining village, officials said yesterday.
One miner pulled from the mountain of mud and rocks said he's survived three landslides in and around the mines, including one that killed his brother, but he can't afford to quit his job despite the dangers.
The shanties and tents where miners and some of their families slept were buried under about 30 meters of mud, soil, rocks and other debris after they were struck by the landslide before dawn on Friday, Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy said.
Uy said landmarks that could help rescuers locate bunkhouses and tunnel entrances also were destroyed when tons of rain-soaked debris cascaded down a mountain in the village of Kingking in Pantukan township in the country's south.
Soldiers, police and miners used shovels and bare hands to dig out 11 survivors.
"Honestly, I believe it would be very hard to find survivors," Uy said yesterday.
Regional civil defense officer Lisa Maso said, "Only a miracle can save them."
Jay Celades was teary-eyed recalling his third time surviving a landslide.
The 26-year-old said he, his younger brother and two others banged on the steel rails for six hours inside a mine shaft, knowing rescuers would eventually hear them. By midday on Friday, workers dug through about six meters of debris that blocked the tunnel opening to free them.
"All we could do was hope, but I prayed and prayed hard to come out alive. And for the third time, God heard me."
He said another younger brother was killed when they were trapped in a mine shaft in 2009, and he was trapped again a year later.
Still, Celades said he will continue working in the mine until he finds a better job that pays as much as the about 15,000 pesos (US$345) he now brings home monthly.
The landslide covered at least 1 hectare, said provincial police chief Aaron Aquino.
Some of the survivors escaped after they heard a rumbling sound, he added.
Aerial pictures show a green mountain scarred by a brown swath of earth where rocks and debris rolled down onto the sleeping victims.
Uy said he will recommend a 30-day suspension of small-scale mining in the village while geologists determine whether it is safe. He said that after a similar landslide which killed 26 people in a nearby village two years ago, residents signed a memorandum not to build homes but some "hardheaded" miners defied the agreement.
One miner pulled from the mountain of mud and rocks said he's survived three landslides in and around the mines, including one that killed his brother, but he can't afford to quit his job despite the dangers.
The shanties and tents where miners and some of their families slept were buried under about 30 meters of mud, soil, rocks and other debris after they were struck by the landslide before dawn on Friday, Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy said.
Uy said landmarks that could help rescuers locate bunkhouses and tunnel entrances also were destroyed when tons of rain-soaked debris cascaded down a mountain in the village of Kingking in Pantukan township in the country's south.
Soldiers, police and miners used shovels and bare hands to dig out 11 survivors.
"Honestly, I believe it would be very hard to find survivors," Uy said yesterday.
Regional civil defense officer Lisa Maso said, "Only a miracle can save them."
Jay Celades was teary-eyed recalling his third time surviving a landslide.
The 26-year-old said he, his younger brother and two others banged on the steel rails for six hours inside a mine shaft, knowing rescuers would eventually hear them. By midday on Friday, workers dug through about six meters of debris that blocked the tunnel opening to free them.
"All we could do was hope, but I prayed and prayed hard to come out alive. And for the third time, God heard me."
He said another younger brother was killed when they were trapped in a mine shaft in 2009, and he was trapped again a year later.
Still, Celades said he will continue working in the mine until he finds a better job that pays as much as the about 15,000 pesos (US$345) he now brings home monthly.
The landslide covered at least 1 hectare, said provincial police chief Aaron Aquino.
Some of the survivors escaped after they heard a rumbling sound, he added.
Aerial pictures show a green mountain scarred by a brown swath of earth where rocks and debris rolled down onto the sleeping victims.
Uy said he will recommend a 30-day suspension of small-scale mining in the village while geologists determine whether it is safe. He said that after a similar landslide which killed 26 people in a nearby village two years ago, residents signed a memorandum not to build homes but some "hardheaded" miners defied the agreement.
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