Philippine emergency services described “a miracle” Friday following the rescue of a child nearly 60 hours after a landslide that left at least 11 dead and more than a hundred missing in the south of the archipelago .
The landslide occurred Tuesday evening in the province of Davao de Oro, in the south of the big island of Mindanao, burying houses, engulfing three buses, which were carrying several dozen passengers, and a vehicle to pick up workers of a gold mine.
A girl, whose age has not been revealed, was found by rescuers digging with their bare hands and shovels for survivors in the mining village of Masara, Edward Macapili, official, told AFP. from the Davao de Oro Province Disaster Management Agency.
A video showing a rescuer holding the crying and mud-covered child was shared on Facebook.
“It’s a miracle,” Mr. Macapili said.
“It gives hope to the rescuers.
A child's resilience is generally lower than that of adults, and yet the child survived,” he argued.
The girl's father was able to see her before she was taken for a medical examination.
The affected area “prohibited for construction”
The landslide, caused by heavy rains, left at least 11 dead and 31 injured.
More than a hundred people are still missing, according to official data.
Rescuers are racing against time to find survivors in the thick mud as rain continues to fall on the region.
Rescuers remain hopeful, according to Rosa Cristina Rosete-Manuel, a spokeswoman for the military's Eastern Command who helped lead the rescue operations.
Landslides are common across much of the Southeast Asian archipelago due to mountainous terrain, heavy rainfall and deforestation from mining, slash-and-burn agriculture and logging. illegal logging.
Since January 28, continued rainfall in parts of Mindanao, the Philippines' second-largest island, has forced tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in emergency shelters.
The Davao Municipal Agricultural Bureau recorded 38,343 families affected by floods and 338 families affected by landslides.
More than a hundred hectares of rice and corn crops were lost.
Nearby schools have suspended classes.
The area affected by the landslide had been declared “prohibited for construction” after previous landslides in 2007 and 2008, Mr. Macapili said.
“People were asked to leave this place and they were given a place to settle, but people became stubborn and came back,” he said.