DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 22, 2008) – Philippine troops were deployed on a remote mountain town in Mindanao to help in search and rescue operation after a landslide buried small houses, officials said Saturday.
At least 6 people have died from the landslide brought about by heavy rains since Thursday in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province. Several people were also reported missing.
“Troops are in the area and helping in the search for survivors,” said Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia, a spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division. “Lt. Col. Manny Sequitin, commander of the 66th Infantry Battalion, is leading the search in Monkayo town.”
Among those killed in the tragedy were children. Villagers were also helping soldiers in the search for survivors. It was unknown how many people were missing, but many are still unaccounted in the area worst hit by the landslide.
In September, eight people were killed in a landslide that buried houses on another mountain enclave called Maco in Compostela Valley.
Army soldiers were also sent to the town to help rescuers search for survivors after heavy rains loosened boulders and mud that buried at least two dozen houses in the village of Masara.
Like Monkayo town, Maco is a known gold-rush area in the province, where small scale miners, put up thatched houses from near where they are digging for gold.
Authorities have previously banned miners from putting up houses and structures on mountain slopes because of the dangers posed by mudslides. Squatters have mushroomed in the area over the years despite similar incidents in the past. Ten people were also killed by landslide last year in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)
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