Mt. Province rescuers manually search through rubble; death toll at 8

The rescuers in landslide-hit Natonin town in Mt. Province have resorted to using shovels and bare hands in digging through the rubble of infrastructures that were crushed by a landslide to find signs of life as the ground remained unstable.

According to Raffy Tima's report on GMA's 24 Oras, rocks as big as cars rolled down from the mountains along with mudwater.

The rescuers tried to access what remained of the collapsed and buried Department of Public Works and Highways buildings. There are four houses that were also buried by the landslide.

Relatives, who trooped to the site, are concerned that they may not find their loved ones.

“Bulok na... baka hindi na mahanap! Mamaya baka nabulok na. Di na makita mukha niya...anak ko,” Josephine Tayag, a relative of two missing persons, cried.

Some survivors were able to describe the scenario that happened on Tuesday.

"Mga 4 p.m. may narining sila na parang nagputok, at saka biglang gumuho ang lupa at saka mga bato at punong kahoy," said a local official of Barangay Poblacion.

Four news cadavers have been discovered on Thursday rounding up the death toll at eight while 17 others are still missing.

Some amputated body parts were also recovered.

Residents of the town were still in wonder why the landslide occurred, because the surrounding mountains are forested.

According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) around 100 landslides have occurred in Natonin after Typhoon Rosita (International name: Yutu) swept across northern Luzon on Tuesday with winds of 140 km per hour (87 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 230 kph (142 mph), before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility in the evening.

Personnel from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Bureau of Fire Protection, and rescue volunteers will continue the search and retrieval operations on Friday.

Additional search and rescue dogs were brought to the site. — Dona Magsino/BAP, GMA News