- Toddler survives 3-day ordeal underneath landslide; death toll now 15
A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl miraculously survived Tuesday night’s landslide in the mining village of Masara in Maco, Davao de Oro.
Rescuers managed to find the toddler on Friday morning as they dug through a stack of debris and mud.
She was immediately brought to the Davao Community Hospital in Mawab, Davao de Oro to assess her condition.
Earlier, TIMES erroneously reported that a two-month-old boy was among those rescued. However, upon verification, the mother only asked for help to bring the infant to the hospital for symptoms of diarrhea.
Nevertheless, rescuers still race against time to find others, hoping against hope that they will survive the weight of the mud and rocks that buried this small mining village. Unfortunately, the death toll continues to rise as the bodies recovered reached 15 as of Friday noon, Feb. 9.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) reported that 110 people remain missing while 31 injured residents and workers received medical attention.
The sniffing dog, K9 Appa, found two bodies at 11:10 a.m. and around 3 p.m. on Feb. 8. Another corpse was found when a backhoe was digging through the mud and the arm of the victim stuck out.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao personnel and soldiers of the 1001st Infantry Brigade have been deployed to join the Inter-Agency Search and Rescue Operations at Zone 1, Masara, Maco, Davao de Oro.
The other units involved in the rescue and retrieval operations are the 25IB, the Emergency Response Company of the 10th Infantry Division, 60IB, the 534th Engineer Construction Battalion, and the emergency response teams of each town of Davao de Oro.
Three rescued individuals were airlifted by a Sikorsky helicopter (Air Ambulance) of the Philippine Airforce to Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City for immediate medical attention.
Photo grabbed from Facebook user Illu Mi
