MANILA – Rescue workers recovered more bodies on Feb 9, raising the death toll from a landslide that struck a southern Philippine province to 27, but hopes of finding more survivors remain after a child was saved earlier in the day.

The landslide happened on the night of Feb 6 outside a gold mining site in the town of Maco in the province of Davao de Oro.

It buried homes, as well as three buses and a jeep that were supposed to ferry employees of the mining company.

Provincial authorities said the child who survived was in stable condition.

Maco's disaster agency revised the number of missing to 89 from 110, but it did not give an explanation, with the number of injured at 32.

Disaster officials previously reported that two buses, carrying 27 passengers, were buried, but mining operator Apex Mining said in a statement on Feb 9 that four vehicles were found buried in the landslide.

A communications officer at Apex said the company has no information yet on how many passengers the vehicles were carrying when the landslide occurred. Apex earlier said the buses have a 60-seating capacity, while the jeep can sit 36 passengers.

In a statement posted on its social media account, Maco’s disaster agency said that more than 1,160 families had been evacuated from their homes.

Torrential rains have battered Davao de Oro in recent weeks, triggering floods and landslides.

Colonel Rosa Cristina Rosete-Manuel, spokeswoman for the military’s Eastern Command helping lead the rescue operations, said rescuers remained hopeful of finding survivors.

“We are trying to remain positive,” she told Reuters by phone. REUTERS