Quake halts search at Philippines landslide disaster site

Source: The New Indian Express
Author: Agence France-Presse

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: A strong earthquake in the southern Philipppines on Saturday halted a search for scores of people believed buried in a deadly landslide, forcing rescuers to vacate the area, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the magnitude 5.8 quake that shook the Mindanao region at 11:22 am (0322 GMT), but rescuers were ordered to stop their search in the remote gold-mining village of Masara.

A massive landslide buried a bus terminal and 55 houses near an Apex Mining Co. gold mine on Tuesday night, killing 28 people, mostly miners, and leaving 32 injured, according to an updated official tally.

Hundreds of rescuers are searching for at least 77 people who remain missing and believed buried under the rubble spread over 8.9 hectares (22 acres) at the bottom of a wooded mountain valley.