Rescuers dig for survivors in new Philippine landslide
Rescuers were digging through a landslide that buried at least 10 homes and killed three people in central Philippines yesterday, as monsoon rains unleashed more misery on the already-battered country.
The new tragedy comes just days after this year's most powerful storm, typhoon Mangkhut, raked the nation's north, sparking a separate landslide that left dozens dead.
Emergency workers in yellow helmets rushed to the scene of the new disaster in the town of Tina-an on the popular tourist island of Cebu.
Days of heavy monsoon rains caused a steep slope to collapse and rescuers are frantically looking for survivors.
They dug through debris and thick mud at the site of the slide. Injured survivors were wheeled into the back of ambulances and the dead were laid on pews at a local church.
"We have recovered three bodies. The others sustained minor injuries and we have taken them to hospital," civil defence spokesman Julius Regner told reporters. "The rescue effort continues."
Civil defence officials in the region said landslides are fairly rare on Cebu, an elongated island with low hills.
Meanwhile, efforts continue in the hunt for bodies in the mining area of Itogon in the mountainous north of the Philippines, the area worst hit by the typhoon.- AFP
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