More bodies found; Davao landslide deaths now at 68

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THE death toll from the February 6 landslide in Maco, Davao de Oro yesterday rose to 68, higher by 12 compared to the 54 deaths recorded as of Sunday night, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

Fifty-one persons remained missing and are subject of search, rescue, and retrieval operations, said Leah Añora, a member of DILG’s Management of the Dead and Missing cluster, in a briefing. The number of rescued remained at 32.

Añora said 26 of the fatalities are workers of the Apex Mining Co. They were trapped inside two buses which were buried by the landslide in Barangay Masara. The 42 others, Añora said, are from the community.

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The rain-induced landslide also buried dozens of houses which were constructed in the area that have been declared as a “no-build zone” by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau after similar landslides in 2007 and 2008.

As to the 51 missing, Añora said, 19 are from the Maria-Socio General Services Inc which owns the two buried buses, eight from Apex Mining Co., and 24 from the communities.

The Maco municipal government said the number of deaths was at 55 as of 7 p.m. yesterday, with 32 injured individuals who were rescued. It said it was validating the number of missing persons.

Ariel Capoy, incident commander and Maco municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer, said efforts to locate the missing were continuing as of yesterday afternoon.

“We are using the term search, rescue and retrieval,” he said.

As of yesterday, 25 teams composed of some 285 persons from different agencies were involved in the search, he also said.

Edward Macapili, executive assistant on information and communications of Davao de Oro, said the search was continuing despite some “challenges” on the ground,

including earthquakes.

“That’s one of the challenges but it does not hinder us from our operations, our rescue and retrieval operations,” he said.

US PLANES

Two US transport planes are assisting in the delivery of supplies to the persons affected by the landslide.

AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the two KC-130 aircraft of the US Marine Corps are at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City where “processing, weighing and loading  of supplies” were ongoing.

Trinidad said the plan is for the aircraft to make four deliveries, or two deliveries per plane, “to maintain a steady supply to the affected areas.”

“The US Marines from the III Marine Expeditionary Force will assist in the ongoing disaster relief mission with troops from the Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing delivering essential supplies for distribution,” he said.

He said transport of the supplies is a “collaborative effort” of the US and Philippine armed forces.

Trinidad said the “joint effort highlights the shared commitment of the two countries to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the landslide has affected 1,347 families or 5,431 individuals in four barangays in Maco town.

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