4 coal miners dead, 6 missing in Antique landslide

MANILA, Philippines - Four workers have been pulled out dead from an open coal mining pit in Antique province that was hit by a landslide on Wednesday night.

The Semirara Mining Corp. said in a statement that 13 workers were working on the Panian Pit when its west wall collapsed at around 11:55 p.m.

The open pit was located at Barangay Semirara in Caluya town.

An official of the mining corporation, George San Pedro, said that four of the workers have been confirmed killed and six more are missing.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, director of the Western Visayas regional police office, said that three workers identified as Marjon Catoto, Adrian Selmar and Leonardo Sohor have been rescued alive from the open pit and taken to hospitals.

Cruz said that rescue operations were ongoing as of this posting.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the landslide and if the rainy weather in the area contributed to the accident.