Landslide kills 2 in Rizal

By: Maricar Cinco - 10 years ago

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — A three-year-old boy and his younger brother were buried under tons of earth after a landslide occurred in Rodriguez, Rizal, early Wednesday.

The fatalities were identified as Rodgie Amor, 3, and his six-month-old infant brother Jhon Michael.

In a phone interview, Charlie Labez, a councilor in Barangay (village) San Isidro, said heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon caused the landslide in Sitio Banbanin at 3:30 a.m.

“The children were asleep when the landslide happened,” Labez said.

They were rushed to Casimiro Ynares Sr. Memorial Hospital, also in Rodriguez, but both died of injuries about three hours later.

Labez said the victims’ mother was with them and was brought by neighbors and responders to a hospital and was being treated for her injuries.

The father was working at a garbage site when the landslide occurred and had not returned home as of noon.

Labez could not immediately give the names of the parents as they were still in the area clearing the landslide.

“The soil covered almost half their house,” which Labez described as a hut made of light materials. The house stood at the foot of a mountain.