OCD: No signs of life detected among 36 missing in Mindanao earthquake

No signs of life have been detected among the 36 people who remain missing more than a week after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Mindanao.

In a press conference on Monday, OCD Deputy Administrator for Administration Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said most of them are believed to be buried under massive landslides in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental.

He said responders are still trying to recover the missing victims, but conditions in the affected areas have made search operations difficult.

“Yes,” Alejandro said when asked if authorities were no longer seeing signs of life among those trapped.

According to him, all 36 missing persons are from Jose Abad Santos, where several landslides occurred following the June 8 earthquake.

“Meron tayong isang barangay, Patulang, na 10 reported doon. And I think, if I can recall, seven doon ay isang household na natabunan ng landslide,” he said.

(We have one barangay, Patulang, where 10 people were reported missing. If I can recall correctly, seven of them were members of one household buried by a landslide.)

Alejandro said search operations in one landslide-hit area had already been called off due to the size of the collapsed slope and the difficulty of bringing heavy equipment into the site.

“So it’s very hard. Hindi po makaakyat yung mga equipment at talagang mano-mano. So nag-rechannel na lang tayo ng mga resources doon sa mga ibang areas na nangangailangan ng relief teams,” he said.

(The equipment cannot reach the area, and operations have to be done manually. We have redirected resources to other areas that need relief teams.)

He added that authorities would continue coordinating with local government units to determine whether excavation efforts should proceed in areas where bodies are still believed buried.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Maasim, Sarangani on June 8 has so far left 65 people dead, 1,447 injured, and 36 missing, according to the latest National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council report.

The quake affected 176,186 families or 736,386 individuals across Mindanao.

Of these, 17,867 families or 73,174 people remain affected, including those staying inside and outside evacuation centers.

Government agencies continue relief, rehabilitation, and recovery efforts in the affected areas.—MCG, GMA News