5 kids killed when part of their house got buried in Iligan City landslide

Part of the house that remained after other parts were buried in a landslide in Purok 2, Sitio Sawsaw, Barangay Mandulog in Iligan City Sunday morning. PHOTOS BY JOMAR ALINIO

ILIGAN CITY—Intermittent rains that started Friday and continued over the weekend loosened the soil in parts of Purok 2, Sitio Sawsaw, Barangay Mandulog, causing a landslide past 5 a.m. Sunday and killing five children, a village official said.

Barangay Kagawad Eric Gabonada said the children—aged seven months, 2 years, 4, 7, and 8 years old––were sleeping when the landslide struck in their place, some 10 kilometers away from the city proper.

The landslide happened so fast that the parents––Jessie and Sheila Mae Barolan––were unable to get their children out of the house.

The couple was already up and about, working outside the house when the landslide struck. They clawed to save their children, but the rush of rocks, wood, and debris hit them.

Part of the house that remained after other parts were buried in a landslide in Purok 2, Sitio Sawsaw, Barangay Mandulog in Iligan City Sunday morning. PHOTOS BY JOMAR ALINIO

“The eldest of the five children was still breathing when rescuers brought him to the hospital, but he died on the way,” said Gabonada.

“The three children, and their mother, were brought to (a private hospital), while the two kids, and their father, were rushed to the city hospital. Unfortunately, all five children died. Their mother is under observation. The parents have injuries. They already knew their five children died,” Gabonada said.

Of the seven houses clustered in the area, only the Barolan house, which stood on a sloping portion, was hit by the landslide.

Mandulog Barangay Chair Abungan Cauntongan said the community had been warned that the area where their houses stood was unsafe because of landslide risks, but the residents failed to move out because they had nowhere else to go, village officials said.

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