RETRIEVAL Rescuers carry the remains of one of the victims of a landslide at Barangay Mt. Diwata in Monkayo, Davao de Oro, as search and retrieval operations continue on Friday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF MONKAYO MDRRMO
TAGUM CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE — At least 11 persons were wounded, one critically, after a landslide struck a mining village in Maco, Davao de Oro on Tuesday night, authorities said on Wednesday.
An incident command post is now being set up in Kinuban village as rescue operations continued for more than a dozen people feared buried by mud and other debris after the landslide at Zone 1, Barangay Masara happened at past 7 p.m., the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) of Maco said.
Apex Mining Co. Inc., said in a statement that the incident occurred outside its mining area and where several of its service buses wait to collect mining employees.
“Apex Mining is currently working on tracing the whereabouts of the buses dispatched to ferry outgoing employees,” Apex said.
READ: Evacuation up as landslide buries people in Davao de Oro
Witnesses said the slide had buried at least two Apex service buses, a passenger jeepney, and several houses.
The incident has prompted the evacuation of residents to higher and safer grounds in Masara and four other villages—Mainit, Elizalde, Tagbaros, and Panibasan—due to threats of a flash flood as debris of the slide had blocked a portion of a river that flows through the five villages and downriver into Hijo River in Mawab town, Davao de Oro, and Tagum City, in Davao del Norte.
“As per the initial report, the landslide was due to the continuous rain brought by the shear line and recently, a trough of a low-pressure area,” the Maco disaster office said.
Rescuers from the mining firm itself, as well as from the local disaster offices in Maco, Mawab, Monkayo, and Davao del Norte were helping in the search and rescue efforts.
READ: NDRRMC confirms 8 deaths, validates 7 others in Davao de Oro landslide