NAGA (Cebu) • Twelve people were killed and dozens were missing after a landslide unleashed by monsoon rains struck in the central Philippines yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported.
The new tragedy came just days after Typhoon Mangkhut - this year's most powerful storm - brought heavy winds and rain to the nation's north, sparking a landslide that left dozens dead.
Emergency workers in helmets and locals with shovels rushed to search for survivors of the new disaster, which happened in the village of Tinaan on the popular tourist island of Cebu.
Days of heavy monsoon rains caused a steep slope of crumbly limestone to collapse and crash into at least 10 homes early yesterday when many people would still have been in bed.
Injured survivors were taken to hospital and the dead were laid on pews at a local church.
"There are 64 missing. Nine were injured... these are minor injuries," civil defence spokesman Julius Regner told AFP. "There are more than 100 rescuers on the site. They are using (excavators) and other heavy equipment," he added.
Civil defence officials said landslides are fairly rare on Cebu, an elongated island with low hills.
As yesterday's search for survivors unfolded, efforts continued in the hunt for bodies in the mining area of Itogon in the mountainous north of the Philippines, which was the area worst hit by Mangkhut.
Most of those killed in the storm died in landslides in the Cordillera range, which includes Itogon and other towns in a region known for gold mining.
Police yesterday said the death toll had risen to 88, after more bodies were recovered from the Itogon landslide.
Mangkhut swamped fields in the nation's agricultural north and smashed houses when it tore through at the weekend.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has written to his Philippine counterpart Alan Peter Cayetano to convey Singapore's condolences over the casualties caused by Typhoon Mangkhut. He also extended Singapore's offer of assistance in the ongoing relief efforts.
