Cries still heard after landslides hit Abuyog in Leyte, 12 confirmed dead

Rescuers who witnessed from a boat some of the landslides that hit Leyte on Tuesday following heavy rains brought by cyclone Agaton tried to get to those buried by the avalanche of soil.

According to Jun Veneracion's report on "24 Oras", they were prevented from doing so as earth continued to slide.

“May mga naiwan, may naririnig pa kami roong mga boses. Humihingi ng tulong," said witness Irish Suganob, who also caught the video of the landslide on her phone.

"Papalapit pa lang kami ng bangka. Wala kaming nagawa kasi ‘yung lupa bumubuhos,” she added.

(We still heard voices even last night. There are still people there, we heard them calling for help. They were saying they were still alive…We cannot do anything.)

Irish said children were among those she heard.

“Wala, sorry. Nag-try kami i-rescue, wala, hindi kaya. Hindi talaga…Yung mga bata, ‘yun ang kawawa eh,” she added.

(We’re sorry. We tried to rescue them but we had no choice. The children, they must be helped.)

Based on the latest data from the search and retrieval cluster, at least 12 individuals died in Abuyog due to the landslides caused by Agaton.

The number of missing persons, however, remains unclear.

Col. Noel Vestuir, Command 802nd Brigade Army, assured rescue operations continue even despite the threat of another tranche of landslides.

K9 units have also been deployed to help in the retrieval operations of those who were trapped inside their homes.

“Kahit na medyo may risk dahil may threat pa ng landslide ay hinahanapan pa rin ng paraan ng rescuers natin na ma-rescue itong buhay kahit sa retrieval. Tuloy-tuloy ang ginagawa natin,” he said.

(The risk remains because of the threat of landslides but our rescuers are doing everything to rescue more survivors. We will continue with that.) —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA News