Associated Press MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers dug with picks and shovels trying to reach dozens of people trapped under houses collapsed by a strong earthquake Monday that shook a central Philippine island and set off landslides. ADVERTISING At least 13
Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers dug with picks and shovels trying to reach dozens of people trapped under houses collapsed by a strong earthquake Monday that shook a central Philippine island and set off landslides.
At least 13 people were killed and 40 are believed missing, most of them along the shore near the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake that struck in a narrow strait just off Negros Island.
In the mountain village of Planas, 9 miles from coastal Guihulngan town in Negros Oriental province, as many as 30 houses were buried with at least 40 residents believed trapped, said Gov. Roel Degamo.
“Their situation is bad because if you are covered by landslide for one hour, two hours, how can you breathe?” Mayor Ernesto Reyes said. “But we just hope for the best, that there are still survivors.”
Army troops and police were deployed to help in the rescue.
At least 10 people were confirmed dead in Guihulngan, including students at a college and an elementary school and others in a town market that collapsed, Reyes said. About 100 were injured.
The quake, which hit at 11:49 a.m., triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental.
“We’re now getting shovels and chain saws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” Besario said.
