FOUR men were trapped in a tunnel that collapsed on Sunday morning in Sto. Tomas town in Davao del Norte.
The four, described by local officials as treasure hunters, are presumed dead as efforts shifted yesterday to search and retrieval operations.
The town’s information officer, Mart Sambalud, said the a 96-foot deep tunnel in a residential property in Purok 1, Barangay Kinamayan collapsed at around 10 a.m. due to softening of the soil, trapping the treasure hunters inside.
He named the four as Kayl Castaneres, 18; Gerick Marquez, 23; Dindo Panares, 18; and Rustom Rancho, 18.
Sambalud did not give details as to what treasure they were looking for.
Search and rescue operations started shortly after the victims’ companions reported the incident to authorities at around 1 p.m.
Sambalud said the operations shifted to retrieval yesterday morning because the victims are presumed dead as they have been buried 24 hours, with water and mud blocking air passageways.
He also said rescuers “failed to get signs of life from the buried treasure hunters and added that the men could be dead because of lack of oxygen in the collapse tunnel.”
Sambalud said a backhoe has been sent to the area to help retrieve the remains of the victims. He said the digging will have to be done from the nearby property because the entrance of the collapsed tunnel remains dangerous for rescuers.
