2 men presumed dead in landslide in Anda town in Bohol

Members of a search-and-rescue team gather in Anda town in Bohol to search for two men buried in a landslide on Monday, March 5, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Jeryl Lacang-Fuentes)

Published:  9:41 p.m., Oct. 5, 2018 | Updated: 12:57 a.m., Oct. 6, 2018

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — Two men were buried in a landslide on Monday afternoon as they were quarrying for limestone in Barangay Candabong, Anda town, authorities said.

The Anda Municipal Police Station identified the two men as Valeriano Galeya and Ariel Abac, both residents of Barangay Candabong in Anda town.

Rescuers from neighboring towns of Pilar, Alicia, Candijay, Guindulman and Duero went to the site to look for them.

But as of 8: 30 p.m. Monday, the search-and-retrieval operation was stopped for safety purposes. It would resume on Tuesday morning.

Galeya and Abac were quarrying limestone at 4:45 p.m. on Monday when they didn’t notice the falling debris from the shallow portion of the side of the mountain.

A driver of a mini-dump truck told police that when the landslide hit, the two failed to run for safety.

The driver was able to escape unscathed but the the dump truck was buried together with Galeya and Abac.

Residents said it was not raining at the time, although Typhoon Basyang which hit the province last month might have loosened the soil.

The mountain in Candabong was a known quarry site for limestone and the area is one of those identified as landslide prone. /atm

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