SunStar: 2 killed, 13 hurt in Cebu mudslide

What started as an end-of-summer picnic turned tragic after a mudslide killed two teenagers and injured 13 others in Carmen town in Cebu province Thursday. Sun-Star Cebu (www.sunstar.com.ph) reported Friday that the mudslide buried cousins Christine and Geneve Beduya, both 19; and Jonathan Alfahura, 33. It was the first time a mudslide was reported in the vicinity of Mangitngit Falls. Residents blamed a heavy rain that lasted at least two hours on the eve of the accident. Following the incident, Carmen mayor Virginio Villamor ordered the closure of the Mangitngit Falls to visitors, after Thursday’s mudslide. Villamor said many visitors from all over Cebu have been to the falls for picnics and swimming, but the town has not officially made it a tourist spot. He said no lifeguard watches over the area, adding the place is not yet developed and the town does not earn revenues from it. A motorcycle (locally known as “habalhabal") is the only means of public transportation in getting to Mangitngit Falls. Four cottages on the surrounding property reportedly belonged to town councilor-elect Gerard Villamor, the mayor’s son. The three were chatting inside a cottage at the foot of a 30-foot hill when the mud crashed down on them in Lower Natimao-an village in Carmen town at around 1 p.m. It took friends some 15 minutes to dig the three out of the knee-deep mud, using their bare hands and some shovels brought by nearby residents. Joselito Jopia, leader of a three-man team from the Carmen Police Station, said that by the time they retrieved the two Beduyas, “they were already dead." Alfahura still had a pulse when they pulled him out from the muck, Jopia added. Rodel Tolintin said they were preparing their food when the accident struck. He said they organized the picnic to enjoy the last days of their vacation, before going back to school on Monday. Villamor sent his social welfare officer to the scene, as well as to the hospital where the victims were brought. He also coordinated with the Provincial Social Welfare Office for further assistance. The picnickers, mostly residents of Barangay Juan Luna in Danao City, agreed last Wednesday to hold a picnic at the falls, about five kilometers from the main highway. They intended to use the cash prize they won in a cultural dance contest during Danao City’s Charter Day celebration. But before the tragedy, they had a brief warning. “Some bits of rock and soil kept falling from the hill, but we thought nothing of it. Moments later, part of the hill just collapsed," said survivor Ronald Tolintin, 23. Tolintin and the others suffered minor bruises helped dig for the Beduyas and Alfahura. Tolintin said that because there were people in the other cottages, they decided to occupy the one nearest to the falls, for P150. The entrance fee is P10 per person. Alfahura, his cousin Cynthia and Agustin Gonzales, both 17, received treatment at the Danao District Hospital before they were transferred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City. The others suffered only minor injuries, and were allowed to go home. - GMANews.TV