6 people confirmed dead, about a hundred more feared trapped, in Cebu landslide

Residents dig amongst boulders as they search for survivors after a landslide triggered by moonson rains hit a village in Naga City, Cebu province in central Philippines on September 20, 2108.
Six people were killed and dozens are missing after a landslide unleashed by monsoon rains struck in the central Philippines on September 20, inflicting more misery on the already storm-battered nation. / AFP PHOTO / ALAN TANGCAWAN
Rescue workers provide first aid to a rescued resident after a landslide triggered by moonson rains hit a village in Naga City, Cebu province in central Philippines on September 20, 2018.
Six people were killed and dozens are missing after a landslide unleashed by monsoon rains struck in the central Philippines on September 20, inflicting more misery on the already storm-battered nation. / AFP PHOTO / STR

 

(Eagle News) — Six people are now confirmed dead while about a hundred are feared still trapped in a landslide in Naga City in Cebu province that occurred Thursday morning after monsoon rains in the region.
The landslide occurred around 5:30 AM on Thursday, September 20, after continuous rains in Sitio Sindulan, in the village of Tina-an on the popular tourist island of Cebu.

Authorities identified the fatalities as Olivia Maratas-Menesis 63 years old; Abel Lubiano, 40 years old; Rose Ann Lubiano; Romeo Jabonilla, 50 years old; and Beatriz Hope Echavez, 4 years old. Another victim is yet to be identified.

The Cebu Disaster Management Office said 100 more people are feared trapped in the landslide in Sitio Sindulan which was adjacent to a quarrying site. Days of heavy monsoon rains caused a steep slope of crumbly limestone to collapse and crash into the houses in the village, early morning when many of the residents were still in bed.

According to Chief Inspector Roderick Ylan Gonzales of Naga Police Station some 20 to 30 houses were destroyed and completely buried in the rubble.

Search and rescue operations also continue to rescue and retrieve residents who were trapped in the rubble.

Authorities also said that some of the victims who were buried in the landslide texted them and the rescue team also heard some survivors are asking for help.

Emergency workers in helmets and locals with shovels rushed to search for survivors of the new disaster.
Injured survivors were wheeled into the back of ambulances and the dead were laid on pews at a local church.

“There are 64 missing. Six are confirmed dead. Nine were injured… these are minor injuries,” civil defence spokesman Julius Regner told AFP.

“There are more than 100 rescuers on the site. They are using backhoes (excavators) and other heavy equipment,” he added.

Civil defense officials in the region said landslides are fairly rare on Cebu, an elongated island with low hills.
The new tragedy comes just days after 2018’s most powerful storm, Typhoon Mangkhut, pounded the nation’s north with heavy winds and rain, sparking a separate landslide that left dozens dead.

This latest landslide inflicted more misery on the already storm-battered nation.

As Thursday’s search for survivors unfolded, efforts continued in the hunt for bodies in the mining area of Itogon in the mountainous north of the Philippines, which was the area worst hit by the typhoon.
Most of those killed in the storm died in landslides in the Cordillera range, which includes Itogon and other towns in a region known for gold mining.

Police said on Thursday that the death toll rose to 88, primarily due to corpses recovered from the Itogon slide.

Mangkhut swamped fields in the nation’s agricultural north and smashed houses when it tore through at the weekend.

Itogon is one of the country’s oldest mining hubs, with known gold panning activity stretching back to before the 17th-century Spanish colonial conquest.

Thousands of people from all over the country still flock to the upland town seeking their fortune in largely unregulated mining, which is accompanied by periodic deadly accidents. (with a report from Agence France Presse)

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