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Eleven dead after landslide in Philippines
Rescue workers help residents of the village of Maco get to safety after the landslide. photo
© Uncredited/PHILIPPINE RED CROSS/AP/dpa
Rescue work continues after a landslide in the southern Philippines. More and more bodies are being recovered – and the number of missing people doesn’t bode well.
Heavy monsoon rain triggered the landslide near a gold mine in the city of Maco on Tuesday evening. The masses of earth had buried an unknown number of houses and two buses carrying miners. 31 people were rescued injured. More than 5,000 Maco residents had to leave their homes and take shelter in emergency shelters, the provincial government said. Maco is located almost 1000 kilometers southeast of the capital Manila.
Heavy rains caused by the northeast monsoon and a low pressure system have afflicted the southern region of Mindanao since late January. Since then there have been floods and landslides. Almost 400,000 people have had to leave their homes since the end of January.