The death toll in the Davao de Oro landslide climbed to 11 as three more bodies were recovered in Maco town on Thursday.
One hundred ten people are missing, up from the previously reported 48,disaster agency official Edward Macapili of Davao de Oro said, citing police data.
“We have recorded that ten bodies have been recovered from the landslide and 31 injured persons have been rescued,” the provincial government said.
Rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to dig through mud in a desperate search for survivors as the landslide on Tuesday nightdestroyed houses and engulfed three buses and a jeepney waiting for workers from a gold mine.
“It is everybody’s hope that people are still alive,” Macapili said.
“Our rescue team is in a hurry because every second counts when it comes to human life.”
The landslide left a deep, brown gouge down the mountain. Rescuers pulled a person alive from the mud 11 hours after it hit, Macapili said.
“So, there’s a chance,” he added.
Police, soldiers and rescuers from Davao de Oro and the adjacent Davao del Norte province have been deployed to Masara to help the search and retrieval operation.
While rescuers were using heavy earth-moving equipment in places, theyhad to rely on their bare hands and shovels in areas where they believed there were bodies, Macapili said.
“The soil that covered the buses was very thick—it could almost cover a two-story building,” he said.
At least 20 mine workers are believed to be entombed in the vehicles.
Hundreds of families from Masara and four nearby villages have had to evacuate from their homes and shelter in emergency centers for fear of further landslides.
The state weather forecaster has also warned that flash floods and landslides caused by moderate to heavy rain could strike the province in the coming days.”I’m worried that there will be more heavy rains,” Macapili said. “Of course, that will affect the operations.”
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said water purification teams from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be deployed to the flood and landslide-hit areas in Davao and Caraga.
One unit of a mobile water purifying machine can convert 180 gallons of potable water per hour, which the affected residents could use for their daily needs such as washing, cooking, drinking, and cleaning.
Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday thanked the President for the assistance extended to families affected by landslides and flooding inthe Davao region. AFP with Vince Lopez
“Thank you very much President Bongbong Marcos for all the help that you have extended for the affected areas in the entire Davao Region,” Duterte said in a Facebook post.
“Concern for life and overall welfare of the people should always be the priority,” she added. AFP with Vince Lopez