Davao Oro landslide death toll now at 90

DAVAO CITY: The death toll in the recent massive landslide in Barangay Masara, Maco town in Davao de Oro province has reached 90, an official of the Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) said Thursday, February 15.

In a press briefing, Lea Añora, MDM cluster head, reported that 37 people are still missing and that 39 death certificates have been issued so far.

Of the 90 fatalities, 14 unidentified bodies were temporarily buried at the Maco public cemetery.

“The 90 retrieved include complete bodies and body parts,” Añora said.

The missing individuals, she said, are recorded in police blotters after their families informed the authorities.

Añora also requested families searching for family members to check the local government advisories regarding the process to identify the retrieved bodies.

“Our actions taken are continuous like the postmortem, blotters, and the collection of the retrieved belongings of the victims,” she said.

Officials launched the retrieval operations on February 14, one week after the landslide occurred.

Meanwhile, the Davao City Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) 911 team announced that it would stay for three more days to continue assisting in the retrieval operations in the landslide-hit area.

Since February 9, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Alfredo Baloran said their rescue technicians, search and rescue equipment, and two dogs have been deployed to the area.

The USAR team brought with them search and rescue equipment that included apparatus to detect signs of life and tools to locate people buried in the landslide.