After weeks of rain, the earth began to move near a gold mine in the south of the Philippines. At least six people died in the landslide. The search for survivors continues.
At least six people have died in a landslide caused by heavy rain in the southern Philippines. 31 people were injured in the accident on the island of Mindanao, and more than 40 people were missing, the local civil protection agency said in a preliminary report.
The earth began to move near a gold mine in the town of Maco. Maco is located in the province of Davao de Oro, almost 1,000 kilometers southeast of the capital Manila. Two buses containing mine workers and an undetermined number of houses were buried by the masses of earth. It was initially not known how many passengers were on the buses. Eight miners who were waiting on buses to be taken home got to safety in time, a spokesman for the Davao de Oro provincial government, Edward Macapili, told the AP news agency. A third bus had already left at the time of the accident.
Emergency services are looking for buried victims
Rescue and recovery work was in full swing on Wednesday, the provincial government said in a Facebook post. Almost 800 residents of the city of Maco were taken to evacuation centers after the landslide.
Heavy rains caused by the northeast monsoon and a low pressure system have afflicted the southern region of Mindanao since late January. According to the national disaster management agency, floods and landslides have since killed at least 16 people. Almost 400,000 people have had to leave their homes since the end of January.