MANILA: The Philippines on Friday temporarily suspended all quarrying operations in seven regions following a landslide near a limestone quarry that killed at least 29 people, with dozens more feared trapped under the rubble, according to reports by Gulf News and the Guardian.
As search, rescue and retrieval operations continued at the landslide site in Naga City on the central island of Cebu, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu announced the 15-day suspension pending safety assessments at other quarrying areas.
President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed indignation over Thursday’s landslide in Naga City, Cebu as disaster workers recovered the remains of 29 fatalities from the site on Friday. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the latest occurrences further reinforces the view of the president that mining activities in the country should be stopped.
Roque said the president was outraged over the landslide in Naga City in Central Philippines when the country is recovering from the disaster brought about by typhoon Mangkhut in Northern Luzon.
At least 30 houses were crushed under earth and rubble when a hillside collapsed in Naga, Cebu province, on Thursday. About 50 people were reported to be still trapped, according to a report by The Guardian.
Eight people were rescued from their homes by Thursday night, with some alerting rescuers to their location beneath the rubble by texting family members, according to the local police chief inspector, Roderick Gonzales.
“There were signs of life. Some of them managed to send text messages,” Gonzales told reporters.
This was the second fatal landslide in the Philippines this week as a result of Typhoon Manghkut.
In Itogon, 60 people – mostly miners and their families – were buried after a landslide buried a chapel where they had sheltered from the typhoon. The death toll is currently 22 but rescue efforts continued on Friday to recover all the bodies and this number could rise.
Both landslides occurred on land where mining was carried out, and President Rodrigo Duterte announced the government would be investigating whether the quarrying operations had destabilised the land and contributed to the disasters. “If I were to try to do my thing I will close all mining in the Philippines,” Duterte said in a televised meeting of the government’s disaster response team.
Dozens of people have been buried alive and at least 22 have died after a landslide engulfed two villages in the Philippines, triggered by extreme weather conditions in the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut.
At least 30 houses were crushed under earth and rubble when a hillside collapsed in Naga, Cebu province, on Thursday. About 50 people were reported to be still trapped.
Eight people were rescued from their homes by Thursday night, with some alerting rescuers to their location beneath the rubble by texting family members, according to the local police chief inspector, Roderick Gonzales.
“There were signs of life. Some of them managed to send text messages,” Gonzales told reporters.
This was the second fatal landslide in the Philippines this week as a result of Typhoon Manghkut. In Itogon, 60 people – mostly miners and their families – were buried after a landslide buried a chapel where they had sheltered from the typhoon. The death toll is currently 22 but rescue efforts continued on Friday to recover all the bodies and this number could rise.
Both landslides occurred on land where mining was carried out, and President Rodrigo Duterte announced the government would be investigating whether the quarrying operations had destabilised the land and contributed to the disasters. “If I were to try to do my thing I will close all mining in the Philippines,” Duterte said in a televised meeting of the government’s disaster response team.
