2 men buried in collapsed deep well digging in Quezon

Lucena City, Quezon Province | INQUIRER FILES

LUCENA CITY — The rescue operation for the two men buried 13 feet underground in a hole allegedly for a deep well in Calauag, Quezon on Tuesday, April 30, has turned into a retrieval operation for bodies.

The Quezon police said in a report Wednesday that four workers, all residents of the locality, were digging for a deep well in Barangay Biyan at around 2:30 p.m.

Suddenly, the soil collapsed and buried the workers 13 feet deep. Rescuers were able to save two of the workers.

However, during the rescue operation, the backhoe that was being used developed trouble.

READ: Vessel runs aground in Quezon; 181 passengers, crew rescued

“We believe that the two other workers under the collapsed soil were already dead even before the backhoe trouble,” Major Jernie Junne Merka, Calauag police chief, said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.

He said the retrieval operation was continuing.

Merka said they were also investigating the intention of the landowner in the digging activity which was allegedly either for a water well or treasure hunt.