At least 25 dead in south Philippines mining landslide

[Rhiannon12866]

Source: BBC News

At least 25 people have been killed and 100 more are missing after a landslide struck a mining village in the southern Philippines, officials say.

The landslide occurred at about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday morning (19:00 GMT Wednesday) in Pantukan, Compostela Valley province, on Mindanao island.

Civil defence chief Benito Ramos told the BBC it was triggered by "continuous rain" over two days.

A nearby village was also hit by a landslide last year that left 14 dead.

"A military unit is in the area but they are basically digging with their hands," Mr Ramos told the AFP news agency


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16420800

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[Rhiannon12866]

1. Update: Landslide kills 25, buries more in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — A landslide tore through a small-scale gold mining site in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing at least 25 people and burying dozens more, months after government officials warned miners that the mountain above them was guaranteed to crumble.

The mountainside in Napnapan village in Pantukan township collapsed around 3 a.m., when most residents were asleep, sweeping away about 50 houses, shanties and other buildings, officials said.

Aside from those confirmed dead, more than 100 people were believed buried in the rubble, Compostela Valley provincial Gov. Arturo Uy said.

Scores of soldiers and volunteers were helping villagers dig for survivors and bodies, regional military spokesman Col. Leopoldo Galon said. The bodies of two girls aged 6 and 14 were among those retrieved, he said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/landslide-kills-25-buries-1290283.html

[wordpix]

2. "Unregulated mining activities have made the mountain area unstable and caused a series of accidents

As the GOP and its counterpart in the Phillipines say, "Just one more reason to end those damn environmental regulations"

[Rhiannon12866]

3. This is a horrific tragedy, but how many tragic accidents do we still have here?

And we never seem to learn. :(

It's mind boggling how many environmental catastrophes continue to happen all over the world, like oil spills in Africa, but no one takes much notice. Even if they're on the front pages here, even the worst accidents are quickly forgotten. When are we going to wake up?! x( ;( :hi:

[KoKo]

4. Terrible...after the other stuff (weather) they've had to deal with...

:-(

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Philippines landslide kills dozens (video news report from AlJazeeraEnglish)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzS5TfNqDAQ