2 miners found dead in pit hole in Camarines Norte

LEGAZPI CITY — The bodies of two small-scale miners were retrieved out of a pit hole in Paracale town in Camarines Norte on Friday afternoon (September 9), reports said Saturday (September 10).

Police Major Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson, said the bodies of Rusell Villacruz, 29, and Miguelito Estrella, 30, both residents Jose Panganiban town, were found at 7:45 p.m.

Initial investigation said that while conducting small-scale mining operations, the victims allegedly drowned inside a mining pit hole approximately 70-feet deep in Barangay (village) Calaburnay at around 2 p.m.

However, authorities said they are also looking into the probability that the miners inhaled a toxic chemical while inside the pit hole which rendered them unconscious, causing them to drown in the shallow water there.

Their bodies will be subjected to an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

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