ComVal mining tunnel collapse: 1 dead, 1 rescued

TAGUM CITY—A miner died and another was rescued when portion of a tunnel collapsed in a gold-rich village in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, on Monday, authorities on Tuesday said.

Senior Superintendent Camilo Cascolan, Compostela Valley police chief, said the accident happened in Sitio Panganason, Kingking village.

The fatality was identified as Franol Joy Laraño, 36, married and a resident of Laak, Compostela Valley.

Investigation revealed Laraño and another miner, one Crispen Bundaong Jr., 43, of San Isidro, Davao Oriental, were working deep in the mine shaft owned by a certain Omandac in the village on Monday when the tunnel collapsed.

Bundaong, who suffered minor injuries, told a local radio station in Pantukan that he and Laraño were digging inside the tunnel when rocks above them fell, burying him and Laraño.

Fellow miners recovered the two hours apart early on Tuesday, with Laraño already dead.

The site of Monday’s accident is the same area where a major landslide also occurred two years ago, when a rain-induced avalanche of rocks and mud buried a community of small-scale miners and their families, killing more than 30 people.

Authorities said the cave-in on Monday, commonly known in Compostela Valley mining communities as “bar down,” happened despite the good weather. Frinston L. Lim, Inquirer Mindanao