Space Industry and Business News
WEATHER REPORT
'Miracle' rescue nearly 60 hours after Philippine landslide
'Miracle' rescue nearly 60 hours after Philippine landslide
By Cecil MORELLA
Manila (AFP) Feb 9, 2024

The rescue of a child on Friday nearly 60 hours after a landslide hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has been hailed as a "miracle" after searchers had given up hope of finding more survivors.

The girl, who the Philippine Red Cross said was three years old, had been among scores of people missing after the rain-induced landslide hit the village.

Officials said later on Friday the death toll had almost doubled to 27.

The girl was earlier 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, adding that searchers had believed those missing were probably dead.

"That gives hope to the rescuers. A child's resilience is usually less than that of adults, yet the child survived."

Video of a rescuer carrying the crying, mud-caked child in his arms was shared on Facebook.

"We can see in the social media posts that the child did not have any visible injuries," Macapili said.

He said the girl's father saw his child before she was taken to a medical facility for a check-up.

The Philippine Red Cross posted photos on Facebook of their workers carrying the girl, wrapped in an emergency blanket and hooked up to an oxygen tank, into a hospital in nearby Mawab municipality.

The landslide struck Tuesday night, destroying houses and engulfing three buses and a jeepney waiting to pick up workers from a gold mine.

While the death toll increased to 27 from 15, the number of missing fell to 89 from more than 100, official figures showed, as searchers retrieved more bodies.

The number of injured also rose to 32.

- Bare hands -

Rescuers were racing to find anyone else alive in the thick mud as rain fell on Friday.

While they were using heavy earth-moving equipment in places, they had to rely on their bare hands and shovels in areas where they believed there were bodies.

Sniffer dogs were also used to detect those buried in the mud and rubble.

Three buses and a jeepney buried by the landslide had been found "at ground zero", Apex Mining, the operator of the mine, said in a statement Friday.

Initial reports said at least 20 workers were trapped inside the vehicles.

Company spokeswoman Teresa Pacis told AFP that no bodies were found inside the vehicles but several bodies were nearby.

Landslides are a frequent hazard 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.

Rain has pounded parts of Mindanao on and off for weeks, triggering dozens of landslides and flooding that have forced tens of thousands of people into emergency shelters.

Massive earthquakes have also destabilised the region in recent months.

Hundreds of families from Masara and four nearby villages have had to evacuate from their homes and shelter in emergency centres for fear of further landslides.

Schools across the municipality have suspended classes.

The area hit by the landslide had been declared a "no-build zone" after previous landslides in 2007 and 2008, Macapili told AFP.

"People were asked to leave that place and they were given a resettlement area, but the people are so hard-headed and they returned," he said.

cgm/amj/pbt

Meta

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WEATHER REPORT
Rescuers use bare hands to search for Philippine landslide survivors
Manila (AFP) Feb 8, 2024
Rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to dig through mud on Thursday in a desperate search for survivors of a landslide in the Philippines as the death toll rose to 10, officials said. Two days after the rain-induced landslide hit the mountainous gold-mining village of Masara on southern Mindanao island, searchers were in a race against time and weather. At least 10 people were killed and 31 injured when the landslide destroyed houses and engulfed three buses and a jeepney waiting for worke ... read more

WEATHER REPORT
Six recycling innovations that could change fashion

Ghana struggling with tsunami of secondhand clothes

Salsa's last dance targets reentry over South Pacific

Rice study shows coal-based product could replace sand in concrete

WEATHER REPORT
Space Force initiates MUOS Service Life Extension with Lockheed Martin design contract

Government Connectivity Enters New Era: MetTel and Partners Highlight LEO Satellite Solutions

General Atomics to Showcase Optical Communication Terminals in Space with SDA Contract

L3Harris Technologies showcases Waveform X capabilities in live flight demonstration

WEATHER REPORT
WEATHER REPORT
APG Launches NaviGuard: A New GPS Anomaly Detection App Enhancing Aviation Safety

Korea's satnav system certified by national authorities and enters operational service

Pre-Industrial travel routes and times uncovered through innovative digital project

BAE Systems nears completion of next-gen military GPS user equipment

WEATHER REPORT
Greek PM hails US approval of F-35 fighter jet sale

First Boeing 737 MAX delivered to China since 2019 lands in Guangzhou

Washington approves sale of F-16 warplanes to Turkey

NASA Releases STEM Toolkit for Advanced Air Mobility

WEATHER REPORT
Taiwan chip giant TSMC announces second Japan plant

Unveiling the generation principles of charged particles 'trion' in 2D semiconductor

New photon-based quantum computing method offers built-in error correction

Sivers Semiconductors and Thorium Space set to enhance satellite capabilities

WEATHER REPORT
MethaneSAT Set to Transform Global Methane Emission Tracking with Advanced Technology

The Future of Weather Forecasts: Nearing the Natural Limit of Predictability

Beyond Gravity supports NASA in enhancing climate data accuracy with PACE satellite

ESA's cloud mission in the limelight

WEATHER REPORT
Scientists study levels of toxic mercury in Antarctic seals, whales

Contaminated soil landslide threatens Danish village

ICC prosecutor wants court to try 'environmental crimes'

Debate smoulders over beloved Chinese New Year fireworks tradition

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.