Landslide leaves 5 Semirara miners dead, 5 missing

AT least five miners are confirmed dead, five others remain missing and three more were rescued after a section of an open pit mine in Semirara Island, Antique province gave way, Semirara Mining Corp. reported on Thursday.

In a statement, George San Pedro, Semirara resident manager, said that 13 personnel have been trapped when a section of the west wall of Panian pit collapsed at about 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday.

In a spot report sent to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, by Loreto Pon-an 3rd, municipal local government officer in Caluya, said that the collapsed boulders and soil trapped miners in the pit about 260 meters below ground level.

Pon-an added the Semirara Mining Corp. rescue and retrieval team recovered three bodies at about 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Field reports identified the survivors as Marjun Catoto, Adrian Celmar and Leonardo Sojor.

The Interior department is still determining the names of the fatalities, while those reported missing were identified as Leovigildo Porras, Abner Lim, Joven Hocate, Georgie Bragat, Efren Equiza, Jan Riel Planca, Randy Tamparong, Richard Padernilla, Anthony Siblet and Junjie Gomez.

Police reports point out incessant rains wore away the pit’s wall.

Reports identified the rescued workers as Adrian Celmar, Lenardo Sojor and Marjun Catoto.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., Western Visayas police commander, said that rescue workers from the mining firm are still looking for the 10 workers that were buried in the landslide, which the mining firm had already declared as danger zone.

San Pedro also said that they have already stopped operations to ensure the safety of all its personnel.

“The management is in the process of determining the cause of the accident in coordination with relevant government authorities,” he said.

The manager also said that the firm, the largest producer of sub-bituminous coal in the Philippines, is now extending full support to the families of the affected personnel.

SMC is owned by DMCI Holdings Inc.