Maco landslide retrieval ops halted
She clarified that the previous tally of 98 recovered cadavers was also comprised of retrieved body parts while 35 individuals were injured and eight are still missing.
The provincial government in Davao de Oro announced on Friday that it has officially ended the search and retrieval operations on the deadly landslide at Barangay Masara in Maco town last Thursday.
In an executive order released by the local government of Maco, the operations have been ordered terminated effective 5 p.m. Thursday and according to Executive Order 17, officials from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Apex Mining Co. Inc., the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine National Police reported the completion of retrieval and debris clearing at ground zero, covering the whole landslide area until its ground level.
The order was signed by Maco Mayor Arthur Carlos Voltaire Rimando.
On the same day, a ‘Mass of Hope’ was conducted at a chapel in the hardhit community of Masara, attended by volunteers participating in the retrieval efforts.
To recall, Mawab Municipal Information Officer Jiesyl Mae Tan said that there were 93 confirmed deaths, of which 79 were identified and 14 were still unidentified.
She clarified that the previous tally of 98 recovered cadavers was also comprised of retrieved body parts while 35 individuals were injured and eight are still missing and since 18 February, there have been no more bodies recovered on ground zero.
Sixteen days ago, a rain-induced landslide hit a gold mining village in Masara, on 6 February 2024, at 7:40 p.m., burying nearby houses, a barangay hall, and vehicles carrying employees of the mining company.
The latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed that a total of 1,944 families, or 7,323 people, were affected.
Meantime, 1,424 families, or 4,927, are still taking shelter inside evacuation centers.
An estimated total of P 7,084,524.88 has been provided as assistance to the affected population of Davao de Oro, which was declared under the State of Calamity.