At least 54 people dead in landslide in south Philippines village
MUNICIPALITY OF MONKAYO VIA AP / FEB. 9
Rescuers recover bodies at the landslide-hit village of Maco in Davao de Oro province, southern Philippines. Several villagers remain missing while some bodies have been recovered from underneath the rubble as rescue efforts continue at the landslide-hit area.
MANILA, Philippines >> The death toll from a massive landslide that hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has risen to 54 with 63 people still missing, authorities said Sunday.
The landslide hit the mountain village of Masara in Davao de Oro province on Tuesday night after weeks of torrential rains.
Davao de Oro’s provincial government said in a Facebook post that 54 bodies had been recovered. At least 32 residents survived with injuries but 63 remained missing, it said. Among those missing were gold miners who had been waiting in two buses to be driven home when the landslide struck and buried them.
The search operation has been hampered by poor weather and fears of more landslides. More than 1,100 families have been moved to evacuation centers for their safety, disaster response officials said.
The area has been swamped by heavy rains in the weeks before the landslide struck. Earthquakes also damaged houses and buildings in the region in recent months, officials said.
