4 bodies retrieved in Naga City landslide

4 bodies including that of a 4-year-old girl were retrieved from a massive landslide and brought inside the Sindulan chapel in Barangay Tina-an, Naga. INQUIRER VISAYAS / Junjie Mendoza

CEBU CITY – Four bodies were retrieved after a landslide hit Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan, Naga City, Cebu at past 6 a.m. on Thursday.

In a dyAb interview, rescuers identified the fatalities as Beatriz Hope Echavez, 4; Olivia Maratas, 63; and a certain Rosa Ann Lubiano, who was believed to be around 40 years old.

Chief Insp. Roderick Ylan Gonzalez of Naga police station said part of the mountain of Sitio Sindulan eroded due to the continuous downpour.

Gonzales said at least 24 houses were destroyed by the landslide.

The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) team of Naga City is conducting a search-and-rescue operation for residents trapped inside their homes.

Personnel from the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) are also responding in the area.

Authorities also disclosed that some residents trapped in the buried houses were still shouting for help while others were sending text messages asking to be rescued.

Residents whose houses were spared from the landslide also volunteered to help in the rescue.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and some private construction companies have started sending personnel to help in the search-and-rescue operations.

Mandaue City Mayor Luigi R. Quisumbing has also sent a team of emergency responders to the affected area to assist in the rescue efforts. PAUL LAURO, ROSALIE ABATAYO, FUTCH Paul ANTHONY INSO, DORIS MONDRAGON