Bodies of 3 buried quarry workers found

It was not only residents of Barangay Tina-an, City of Naga, Cebu who were affected by the landslide that struck their area last week.

Rescuers are also in the lookout for three of six contractual workers of a construction firm who were reportedly conducting earth-moving development for the Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) when they were buried alive by the landslide.

The six workers were employed by Geo-Transport and Construction Inc. (GTCI), which is based in Talisay City.

The bodies of three of the workers were recovered during the first four days of the search and retrieval operations.

Chito Maniago, ALQC spokesperson, told SunStar Cebu they only learned about the fate of the six workers after the smoke cleared in the landslide-stricken areas.

Financial assistance

They were working at the quarry in Sitio Tagaytay when the landslide started around 5 a.m. last Thursday.

Aside from the workers, heavy equipment that they brought to the area were also destroyed by the landslide.

Maniago said they are coordinating with emergency responders and officials of the Incident Command Center for the extraction of the remaining workers’ bodies.

Baltazar Tribunalo, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head and overall incident ground commander, said they are still trying to dig out the three remaining workers stuck inside the rubble.

Maniago assured that their company, aside from the contractors, will provide financial assistance to the families of the dead workers. /