10 people killed in Compostela Valley landslide (video inside)

source: gma

At least 10 people were reported killed and at least six injured after a landslide hit a small-scale mining area in Compostela Valley in Mindanao before dawn Friday.

Provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino said they may have a hard time getting to the site via helicopter due to cloudy and rainy weather there.

“Nabigyan ako ng casualty report na 10 ang initial (na namatay). Yan ang report ng chief of police, nakuha sa local officials," Aquino said in an interview on GMA News' Balitanghali Friday noon.

Some six people were rescued from the area and rushed to a nearby hospital. At least one of them suffered “superficial" wounds, he said.

He said the initial reports also indicated 30 to 40 may still be missing, as the landslide hit a mining community of about “40 to 50" miners.

The incident occurred at about 2:30 a.m. at Sitio Panganason in Kingking village in Pantukan town, he said.

Aquino said the initial reports he got indicated a landslide caused by rains in past days caused one of the mining tunnels to collapse and bury the houses below.

“Ito nagsimula sa isang hill. Dahil sa pag-uulan, nag-soften ang soil at yan ang rumagasa pababa combined with rocks and mud," he said.

But he said the area where the incident occurred was not accessible via chopper.

He said he has asked the Air Force to allow local police and military personnel to ride its choppers to get to the area.

“Ina-attempt namin puntahan nang chopper sa area, nguni’t hindi makakita ng landing zone (We are trying to get there via chopper but we could not see a landing zone)," he said.

“Sa ngayon medyo maulap ang kalangitan at kadalasan sa Compostela Valley, lalo sa parte ng bundok laging umuulan (The area has cloudy weather and it is always raining)," he added.

Aquino voiced fears many may have died as most of the miners in the affected area were sleeping at the time of the incident.


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

source: gma