Six dead, 46 missing due to landslide in Davao de Oro
Six people died while 46 were missing in a landslide in a gold mining village in Maco, Davao de Oro on Tuesday.
Maco Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said a landslide occurred in the vicinity of Barangay Masara, Maco around 7 to 8 pm.
"Based on the initial report, Maco MDRRMO confirmed that as of 2pm, "there were six dead bodies recovered in the landslide and 31 rescued, all injured."
"At the moment, there are 46 reported missing individuals while 758 families are in the evacuation centers.
The Philippine Army's 1001st Brigade confirmed that as of 9:45 am, Wednesday, three rescued victims who needed immediate medical attention were airlifted utilizing the Sikorsky air ambulance helicopter of the Philippine Air Force to Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City.
In a radio interview, Ed Macapili, public information executive assistant at Davao de Oro, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said the landslide buried two buses carrying the employees of Apex Mining and the houses in a nearby community.
Macapili explained that the landslide incident was unexpected because the weather was hot when the incident happened.
"There was no sign because the trough of LPA happened last wee. The heavy rains stopped last Thursday. So from Thursday up to yesterday, the weather in the area was hot, so there was no sign that there would be a landslide. The landslide usually happens during heavy rains so it's very sudden," he said.
"Before the trough of LPA, the shearlines in Mindanao also bring rains for a week, then, ten days after the trough of LPA came and last for six days, the volume of water is large. Because of heavy rain, it might be the reason when the mountain absorbed the water because that is usually what happen when we have landslide here," he added.
Col. Rosa Ma Cristina Rosete - Manuel, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson said following the landslide "the neighboring communities, have been evacuated to safer locations"
"However, there are reports of unaccounted individuals believed to be affected by the landslide," she said.
"The roads remain impassable, and there is no cellphone signal in the area. Emergency communication teams from 1001st Infantry Birgade, 10th Infantry Division, have been deployed already establish radio contact within the affected vicinity and Temporary Command Posts (TCP)," she added.
Manuel said "the 25th Infantry Battalion established a Tactical Command Post (TCP) at Tagbaros Patrol Base while 1001st Brigade is coordinating efforts at the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) and the Provincial Incident Command Post, providing leadership assistance in disaster management."
"Rescue teams from (Army's) 10th ID, 1001st Brigade, 25th IB, and 60th IB are on standby in various locations near the incident site," she said while noted that "a total of 14 military vehicles have been mobilized to support rescue operations, alongside other vehicles from various organizations and agencies while sufficient heavy equipment from Apex Mines is on standby, awaiting the optimal conditions to resume clearing operations." Robina Asido/ DMS
