No rescuers killed in CAR during Typhoon Ompong, NDRRMC clarifies

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday clarified an earlier report that two rescuers were killed while responding to a landslide incident in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) during Typhoon Ompong.

The fatalities were first reported by NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad during a press briefing with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Saturday.

"However, upon further validation and confirmation made by Usec. Jalad on the reported casualties, [it was found out that] there were no actual victims of landslide in CAR," the NDRRMC said in a statement.

The NDRRMC also said that all responders who were deployed during Ompong's onslaught in CAR have been accounted for.

"The two responders that were initially reported as victims are police officers responding to reported landslide. But during the accounting of personnel deployed as response team, all responders, including all Police Officers as members of the team, were all accounted for," it said.

Jalad apologized for the confusion. —KBK, GMA News