Cebu earthquake buried many victims in homes

Several residents in Bogo City, Cebu either lost their lives, their homes, or both in landslides caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the province late Tuesday evening 

According to Emil Sumangil’s Wednesday report on “24 Oras,” a mountainside eroded in Barangay Liko in the town of Sogod which is a one-hour drive to Bogo, where the epicenter was located.

Along the highway, boulders and debris that fell from the slope crushed a van and several motorcycles that were caught on the road below.

Fearing for their safety, many residents chose to stay beside the road in Purok Talisay B, Barangay Binabag in Bogo City after the earthquake damaged several houses.

Arni Casala showed her house whose concrete walls collapsed as well as its now unusable kitchen and bathroom. Despite the damage, Casala was more fortunate compared to others.

In Sitio Laray, Barangay Binabag, a number of houses were crushed by falling rocks and soil .

An exclusive video from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 7, emergency responders faced difficulty in retrieving the remains of victims buried under the rubble.

A backhoe was used to remove boulders that destroyed the houses and buried them.

DPWH engineer Jerry Evangelio said the bodies of a couple and their children were retrieved from one destroyed house.

Meanwhile, six people died after a landslide struck a residential area at the foot of a mountain.

An aftershock also occurred during the coverage, causing fear and panic among people who were staying underneath a makeshift outdoor shelter.

Resident Richard Dosaya and his family were injured after a boulder struck their home.

At the Cebu Provincial Hospital, bed-ridden patients were placed in an open area as aftershocks continued on Wednesday. Hospital staff set up tents to shield the sick from the weather.

Bodies that were earlier retrieved and placed outside the hospital have been transferred to funeral homes. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News