Pregnant woman, child killed in Zambo landslide

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A pregnant mother and her child were killed after a landslide buried a house in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines Tuesday, a village official said. Heavy rains triggered by typhoon Frank (Fengshen) over the weekend had loosed soil that buried the house of the Candado family near a hillside village called Maasin. "The house was destroyed by the landslide and a pregnant mother and her boy were buried alive," said village chieftain Misael Bernardo. Bernardo also appealed on radio for equipment to dig through debris and recover the victims. "We need help here. The house is buried and there are two people inside, a pregnant mother and her child," he told the dxRZ Radyo Agong. Witnesses said more than half of the house was buried in boulders and mud and villagers dug though debris with their bare hands to retrieve the victims, but failed to save them. The woman's husband was working at a construction site when the landslide occurred shortly before 9 a.m. The bodies were recovered three hours later. The woman, Liza, was five months pregnant and her child, Chubby, was only six years old. The typhoon left a trail of destruction in southern Philippines where at least 2 dozen people were reported killed and injured and tens of thousands displaced by flash floods. But authorities said the death toll across the country could reach to hundreds after a 24,000-ton ferry, the MV Princess of the Stars, with nearly 750 aboard capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province as the typhoon battered central and northern Philippines before heading toward China. Hundreds have been confirmed dead from Frank's wrath. Rescuers have found several dozens of survivors and cadavers from the stricken ferry, owned by Sulpicio Lines. The government has suspended all Sulpicio's ferries until a maritime investigation into the capsizing of the Princess of the Stars is finished. Initial maritime reports said the ferry's engine malfunctioned and that the captain of the vessel had told passengers to abandon the ship. The captain was among those missing and presumed dead. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV