Five people killed, 31 injured in Philippine landslide: official

MANILA (AFP): At least five people were killed and 31 injured when a landslide engulfed two buses and houses in a mountainous region of the southern Philippines, an official said Wednesday.

The landslide struck Tuesday night in a mining village in Davao de Oro province on Mindanao Island, trapping at least 20 people inside two buses used to transport mine workers, provincial disaster official Edward Macapili told AFP.

Earlier, rescuers searched for 20 people trapped inside two buses buried by a rain-induced landslide in a mountainous region.

At least 28 people were on board two buses outside a gold mine in Davao de Oro province on Mindanao Island when the landslide hit Tuesday night, but eight managed to escape, provincial disaster official said.

Eleven villagers were also injured. Two of them were seriously hurt and were airlifted to a hospital in Davao City for treatment, Macapili said.

“There was no sign that a landslide would occur because the rains stopped on Thursday and by Friday it was already sunny and hot,” Macapili said.

Rain has pounded parts of Mindanao off and on for weeks, forcing tens of thousands into emergency shelters.

At least 18 people died from landslides and flooding in the region last week, the national disaster agency said in its latest update.