Search and rescue operations continuing at the site of the landslide in the village of Masara, Maco on Feb 8, 2024.- Reuters
MANILA: A child was rescued Friday (Feb 9) nearly 60 hours after a rain-induced landslide hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines, killing at least 11 people and leaving more than a hundred missing.
The girl, whose age has not been disclosed, was found as rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to look for survivors in Masara village on southern Mindanao island, disaster agency official Edward Macapili of Davao de Oro province told AFP.
"It's a miracle," Macapili said.
"That gives hope to the rescuers. A child's resilience is usually less than that of adults, yet the child survived."
The landslide struck Tuesday night, destroying houses and engulfing three buses and a jeepney waiting to pick up workers from a gold mine.
Searchers were in a race against time and weather to find anyone else alive in the thick mud as rain fell over the area on Friday.
Landslides are frequent hazards across much of the archipelago nation due to the mountainous terrain, heavy rainfall, and widespread deforestation from mining, slash-and-burn farming and illegal logging.
More families have come forward to report missing persons. The Maco municipal information office had recorded 110 missing persons as of 4pm on Thursday. The latest figure was more than double the 46 initially reported on Wednesday.
Of the 110 missing persons, 45 are Apex employees.
Maco information officer Jiesyl Mae Tan said the command post set up by the local government in Barangay Elizalde, some five kilometres away from Masara, had been receiving a stream of families reporting about missing members.
“It’s still search and rescue. We’re still hoping to see signs of life in the area,” Tan told the Inquirer.
“It is everybody’s hope that people are still alive,” said provincial disaster agency official Edward Macapili. “Our rescue team is in a hurry because every second counts when it comes to human life.” - AFP/Philippine Daily Inquirer
