‘Give me a kiss, I’m going,’ Semirara worker told wife

SEMIRARA ISLAND, Antique—“Please give me a kiss. I’m going.”

Ricarido Panes, heavy equipment operator at Semirara Mining and Power Co.(SMPC) here, repeated those words to his wife Remia and their three young grandchildren shortly before leaving for work at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday for his 12-hour shift that was to start at 6 p.m.

He was unusually affectionate to their 35-year-old daughter, Errella, to whom he said, “No one will take care of me when I grow old.”

Remia did not mind her husband’s unusual behavior. Little did she know that it would be the last time she would see him alive.

Ricarido was found dead about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday after a portion of the northern Panian mining pit collapsed, burying workers, mostly drivers, and equipment under tons of soil.

He was one of the six workers confirmed dead as of yesterday afternoon. Three others remain missing while five survived.

5 others dead, 3 missing

The other fatalities were Alexander Nudo, 35; Arnold Omac, 42; Dicson Daupan, 50; Bernie Manriquez, 39, and Generoso Talaro, 53.

Missing were Danilo Bayhon, Noel Penolla and Ian Catulay.

Remia said her husband was anticipating his retirement in six years after working for the company—the country’s largest coal producer—for 11 years.

“He complained repeatedly that his body was aching after work but he wanted to wait until his retirement,” she told the Inquirer.

Ricarido wanted to buy a jeepney with his retirement money.

Daughters’ hugs

Nudo, the youngest of the fatalities, did not bid his wife Catherine goodbye when he left for work. But he hugged their two daughters, aged 12 and 9, tightly.

“I do not have plans yet because this has been to sudden,” said Catherine, who was grappling with the unexpected loss of her husband.

As SMPC personnel raced against time to find the missing, Victor Consunji, the company’s president and chief operating officer, ordered the deployment of more equipment to hasten the search and clearing, which is estimated to last from three to four days.

“We have to rush because there might be rain again,” he told the Inquirer.

Engineer Arnel Jadormio, SMPC safety officer, said an estimated 374,000 cubic meters of excavated solid (about the load of 8,904 dump trucks) fell on the workers and equipment.

The company and the Department of Energy are investigating the cause of the incident.

Soil movement

Company officials said rains from July 1 to 14 could have loosened the soil, leading to the collapse of the mound of excavated soil and part of the wall of the mining pit.

Jadormio said the company’s monitoring system recorded slides or soil movement on Jan. 10, March 2 and July 5.

On July 16, the monitoring readings at 11 p.m. indicated that soil movement was going on opposite the mouth of pit.

At 3 a.m., there were no movement readings. The personnel conducting the readings left at 3:30 a.m.

Fifteen minutes later, tons of soil collapsed, burying the workers, some of whom were inside trucks and excavators.

2nd major accident

This was the second major accident at the mining firm.

On Feb. 13, 2013, part of the western wall of Panian pit—about a kilometer from last Friday’s incident—collapsed, leaving five workers dead and five others still missing and presumed dead.

Consunji said the company will provide financial assistance and other support for the families of the victims.

He said the company is also conducting a comprehensive review of safety measures and gathering data, the results of which will be made public.

This developed as groups yesterday criticized labor policies of the government, following the Semirara accident.

“The death and injury of workers at Semirara is heartbreaking. The more tragic thing about is it could have been prevented had polices been in place,” lawyer Sonny Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers.

“Had there been a comprehensive law on health and safety in the country, we would not be mourning the death of our fellow workers,” Matula said.