Death toll rises to 54 in southern Philippines landslide
Al Jazeera
Authorities say 63 people remain missing as rescue efforts are hampered by heavy rain, thick mud and the threat of further landslides.
The death toll from a landslide that hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has risen to 54 people and 63 others are missing, authorities have said.
The landslide hit the mountain village of Masara in Davao de Oro province on Tuesday night after weeks of torrential rains.
Davao de Oro’s provincial government said in a Facebook post that 54 bodies had been recovered, raising its previous death toll of 37 earlier in the day as rescue workers found more bodies. At least 32 residents survived with injuries but 63 remained missing, it said.
Among those missing were gold miners who had been waiting in two buses to be driven home when the landslide struck and buried them.
Edward Macapili, an official from Davao de Oro, said more than 300 people were involved in the rescue, but operations were being hampered by heavy rain, thick mud and the threat of further landslides.
