Rescuers led by the nose to find quake survivors in Negros

Earthquake site in Negros Oriental. AFP

GUIHULNGAN CITY—Soldiers digging through mounds of loose earth and boulders in a landslide-hit village here found the remains of a victim Thursday day amid fears that chances of finding survivors had become slim.

Local officials and the commander of the soldiers at the forefront of the search and retrieval operations following Monday’s strong earthquake in Negros Oriental, however, said they were not yet giving up hope.

In Solonggon, rescuers will be using their noses in looking for landslide survivors. “The stench (from the bodies) is overwhelming,” said Alejandro Somoza, leader of the Negros Oriental Search and Rescue (Norsar).

“We will continue our operations as long as these take. We will only stop if that is the consensus of all government agencies and organizations involved in the operations,” Lieutenant Colonel Ramil Bitong, commander of the Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview.

Bitong corrected the number of confirmed fatalities at 31 as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, based on reports reaching the multiagency operations center at the Guihulngan multipurpose gymnasium. On Wednesday, he told reporters that the number had reached 47.

Double counting

The officer said there was an inaccuracy in the tally because the figures given by various agencies and organizations had not yet been reconciled.

In some towns, he said, there had been a double counting of fatalities.

According to the latest count, 12 people were killed in Guihulngan, seven in Jimalalud, three in Tayasan, six in Libertad, one in Bindoy and two in Ayungon.

Sixty-five remain missing in Barangay (village) Planas, Guihulngan and in Barangay Solonggon in La Libertad, while 106 were injured.

The sex and age of the latest victim recovered in Planas at 2:30 p.m. Thursday was not immediately known.

So far, one body has been recovered in Sitio (sub-village) Bloke Dos in Solonggon, where 43 missing people are believed to have been buried by a landslide.

Guihulngan Mayor Ernesto Reyes said in a phone interview that search and retrieval operations would continue “as long as necessary” in Sitio Moog in Planas.

Rescue teams from Cebu, Manila and Negros were helping soldiers in their mission, Reyes added.

State of calamity

On Tuesday, Guihulngan declared a state of calamity following an emergency session by City Council members to enable the city to access funds. La Libertad officials, however, have not yet met to make a similar pronouncement because offices were closed, said Vice Mayor Emmanuel Iway.

He said some 35,000 residents badly needed food and water supplies.

In Manila, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he would send K9 and rescue teams to Guihulngan to assist in the retrieval operations.

The teams, composed of six extrication experts, two dogs and four handlers from the Philippine Search and Rescue Foundation and Makati K9/Rescue Unit, will be equipped with a search camera and portable hydraulic equipment.

The team had participated in retrieval operations in other calamity-hit areas, including Guinsaugon, Leyte province, in 2006, Binay said.

Relief goods

Relief goods are also en route to Negros Oriental, he said. To date, the Office of the Vice President has sent 292 boxes of bottled water each to the provincial government and Guihulngan.

Fifty sacks of rice were distributed in Guihulngan and 15 sacks in Jimalalud.

Bitong could not say how long the operations would last.

“If the roads are cleared, we can bring in heavy equipment that will hasten the clearing of debris and the search for survivors and bodies,” he said.

At least 1,500 residents were evacuated to Guihulngan District Hospital, Negros Oriental State University and Guihulngan National High School, all in the city proper. Many others have left their homes and preferred to stay in open areas, fearing more aftershocks.

Based on a report of the provincial police, 17 bridges were damaged by the earthquake in the province. Fourteen are in Guihulngan, two in La Libertad, and one in Jimalalud. With reports from Connie Fernandez and Florence Baesa, Inquirer Visayas; and Tina G. Santos in Manila