Death toll in Compostela landslide now 42

MANILA, Philippines - The number of bodies retrieved in the landslide-stricken mining village of Napnapan in Pantukan, Compostela Valley has increased to 42, disaster officials said yesterday, adding that only three have been officially identified.

Defense Undersecretary Benito Ramos, executive officer of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said heavy rains have hampered retrieval operations in Sitio Diat in Barangay Napnapan.

Ramos said retrieval teams from the Philippine Army and local police are still searching for 42 more missing miners.

There were reports that most of the miners were not originally from Compostela Valley based on the non-identification of their remains.

One of the fatalities was said to have hailed from Mt. Province, bolstering earlier reports that most of the small-scale mining operators in Pantukan town have been employing miners from Luzon, the Visayas and other parts of Mindanao.

Pantukan has been closed to mining activities and only retrieval teams are allowed to stay in the area.

The NDRRMC has declared inhabitable all landslide-prone mining areas in Pantukan and Monkayo towns, based on the recommendation of the government’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau.