Philippine rescuers have successfully rescued a girl trapped for 60 hours after a landslide on the southern island of Mindanao.
"It's a miracle," Edward Macapili, a disaster agency official in Davao de Oro province, said today. "It gives hope to the rescuers. Children's survival rate is usually lower than adults, but this girl survived."
Local officials said the girl was found as rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to dig out a landslide in the village of Masara on the island of Mindanao. They did not say how old she was.
Macapili said the girl had seen her father before being taken to a medical facility for a check-up. "She did not have any serious external injuries," he said.
The landslide on the evening of February 6 left at least 11 people dead and more than 100 missing. Several houses, three buses and a jeepney waiting to pick up gold mine workers were buried.
Rescuers use heavy machinery to search for missing people in Masara village, Davao province, Philippines on February 8. Photo: AFP
Rescuers are racing against time to search for survivors in the mud after heavy rains hit the area today. In addition to heavy equipment to clear the mud, they are using shovels and bare hands in areas where victims are believed to be trapped.
Landslides are a constant threat in the mountainous Philippines. Heavy rainfall and widespread deforestation from mining, slash-and-burn agriculture and logging have increased the risk of landslides.
Hundreds of families in Masara and four nearby villages were evacuated and taken to emergency shelters amid fears of further landslides. Macapili said the disaster area was “no-go” after landslides in 2007 and 2008.
“People were asked to leave and given resettlement areas, but many insisted on returning,” he said.
Thanh Tam (According to AFP )
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