MACO, DAVAO DE ORO — Rescuers retrieved a total of twenty seven bodies from ground zero in Zone 1, barangay Masara, Maco, Davao de Oro, as of 6:00 in the evening of February 9.
Based on the initial report from the Municipal Risk Reduction Management Office of Maco, twenty seven (27) bodies were recovered from the landslide and thirty-two (32) injured were rescued. Currently, eighty-nine (89) missing individuals have been recorded by the Philippine National Police and the local government.
Joint rescue team from the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Red Cross along with mining engineers from Apex Mining Corporation carefully scour the ground in their effort to retrieve the missing individuals.
This developed as Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy Gonzaga said “We extended the rescue and retrieval operations for another 48 hours because we are still hopeful we can rescue trapped individuals.”
The provincial government, Gonzaga said, will explore all means to search and rescue the missing individuals “We will try our best to rescue that is why we extended the search and rescue for another 48-hours.”
The extension has been implemented on the search and rescue operations after a three-year-old girl was rescued earlier today.
Julius Sandulan, a father of three kids patiently awaits at the entrance of ground zero in the hope of seeing his children alive.
