The death toll in a massive landslide in southern Philippines has reached 11, with more than 100 reported missing, the provincial government said on Thursday.
The landslide occurred on Tuesday evening near a gold-mining site in the town of Maco in Davao De Oro province, about 965 km south of Manila.
Two buses carrying workers from the mining site and an undetermined number of houses were reportedly buried in the landslide.
“Based on the initial report, we have now recorded 11 recovered dead bodies from the landslide, and 31 injured were rescued”, the provincial government said in an update.
“Meanwhile, there are 110 reported missing individuals”, it added.
More than 5,000 residents from affected villages in Maco were displaced and now staying in evacuation centres, the provincial government said.
Heavy rains caused by the north-east monsoon and a trough of low pressure have been battering the southern region of Mindanao since late January.
Floods and landslides have left 16 dead and affected more than 812,000 people, including 398,158 forced to flee their homes since Jan. 28, the national disaster agency said.
