New landslide kills at least 21, buries houses in Philippines
NAGA, Philippines — A massive landslide buried dozens of homes near a central Philippine mountain Thursday, killing at least 21 people and sending rescuers scrambling to find survivors after some sent text messages pleading for help.
The slide surged down on about 30 houses in two rural villages after daybreak in Naga in Cebu province, city police chief Roderick Gonzales said by telephone as he helped supervise the search and rescue. Seven injured villagers were rescued from the huge mound of earth and debris.
Some victims managed to send messages after the landslide hit, Gonzales said.
Nimrod Parba, a 26-yearold resident, said a relative trapped in a house beneath the rubble managed to call Thursday morning and begged to be rescued. The calls stopped, however, and the relative could not be reached hours later, Parba said.
Naga Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong said at least 64 people are missing.
The landslide hit while several northern Philippine provinces are still dealing with deaths and widespread damage wrought by Typhoon Mangkhut, which pummeled the agricultural region Saturday and left at least 88 people dead and more than 60 missing. An extensive search is still underway for dozens of people feared dead after landslides in the gold-mining town of Itogon in the north.
Cebu province was not directly hit by Mangkhut but the massive typhoon intensified monsoon rains across a large part of the archipelago, including the central region where Naga lies about 355 miles southeast of Manila.