Four dead, six missing in copper mine landslide in Cebu

Four people were killed while six others remain missing following a landslide at the Carmen Pit of Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) in Toledo City, Cebu.

In a statement on Tuesday, CCC said that around 4:15 p.m. Monday, December 21, 2020, a landslide happened at the company’s mine operation site.

CCC is an operating arm of listed Atlas Consolidated Mining Development Corporation (ACMDC) based in Toledo City.

The landslide claimed four lives, the miner said. Eleven people were injured in the incident.

“Following the statement regarding a slide incident at the Company’s mine operations site, as of 1 p.m. December 22, 2020, the Company solemnly regrets to inform that this incident has claimed  four lives,” it said.

“The Company continues its efforts to locate six more persons missing,” it added.

CCC said the incident was traceable to the incessant rains for the past several months and aggravated by Storm Vicky which hit parts of the Visayas, including Toledo City last Friday, December 18, 2020.

“As of this time we are in close coordination and communication with the affected immediate families and will continue to extend the needed support and assistance,” the company said.

“We humbly ask the  general public to exercise caution and responsibility in distributing information out of respect to  the affected families,” it added.

Ongoing investigation

Sought for comment, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo Moncano said an official investigation is ongoing.

“The mine pit operation is temporarily suspended to determine the cause of the landslide,” Moncano said in a text message.

The MGB chief noted that the mine passed the Mineral Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) independent audit conducted this year and in 2017.

“Initial finding indicated that typhoon Vicky exacerbated the already waterlogged limestone and mudstone layer from the prior typhoons that weakens its contact with the intrusive rock base. This is the material that went down to the pit bottom,” Moncano said.

“A fault line called the Barot Fault was also observed in the slide area and may have contributed to the landslide,” he added.

CCC, meanwhile, said it is in close coordination and communication with concerned government agencies as it continues to conduct all necessary actions to assess and address the situation.

“Meanwhile, we have suspended all activities in the mining operations area to ensure the safety of our employees  and contractors,” the company said. — RSJ, GMA News