PANTUKAN, Compostela Valley – The search for the missing in the landslide that hit a mining village in Compostela Valley will continue this Saturday, said its Mayor Celso Sarenas who also admitted that he erred in reporting that 27 bodies had been recovered. But Sarenas maintained that dozens remained missing and were believed to be under the debris in the disaster-hit area of Panganason in Kingking village here.
Sarenas said he relied much on data furnished by barangay (village) health workers, claiming that as of last night, their reports had never been confirmed and that only one body, that of 15-year old Junrez Torrejos, was pulled out of the mud that covered dozens of huts in Panganason around 2:30 a.m. on Good Friday.
"They reported that 27 bodies had been found but it turned out otherwise," he said by text message.
Six people were pulled out of the rubble alive and had been brought to various hospitals.
Sarenas said the search operation was halted late Friday due to rains and thick fog.
Frinston Lim, Inquirer.net
