Bodies of four miners found, six still missing 

Behind this mining site of Carmen Copper Corporation in Toledo City is ground zero, an area that collapsed and buried miners on Monday afternoon, December 21, 2020. Four bodies have already been recovered while six remain missing. CDN Digital photo | Delta Letigio

TOLEDO CITY, Cebu—Almost 24 hours after the collapse of an area of a mining pit in Barangay Biga here, rescuers have recovered four bodies of miners from ground zero. 

Carmen Copper Corporation, the operator of the biggest mining sites in the city, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, December 22, 2020. 

However, the names of the four weren’t released as of this posting.

The company said that as of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, rescue operations continue to rescue six more missing miners from the collapsed area. 

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

Read: 3 dead, 7 missing in Toledo City mining pit collapse

The company has assured the public that they are working with local authorities to rescue the individuals as soon as possible. 

Focus on rescue efforts

As for the city government, Roseller Layan, the designated spokesperson of Mayor Marjorie Perales, said that disaster units have already been deployed to aid the rescue operations in the area. 

“We are still hoping that the miners are alive. We are focusing our efforts on their rescue as of now. The investigations will come after,” said Layan. 

He belied reports that government responders were not allowed entry to the site by the company during the onslaught of the landslide. He said the company only cleared the path for them and made initial assessment to prevent further incidents from happening. 

Police Lieutenant Colonel Jonel Caadlawon, the chief of the Toledo City Police, said the rescue was difficult as the grounds kept moving. This is the reason operations were temporarily halted on Monday evening. 

The police refuse to comment on possible liabilities of the mining company over the incident. 

MGB-7 complaint

But Biga Barangay Captain Pedro Sepadao, Jr., said that an advisory was already issued early in the morning of Monday, December 21, but the company failed to evacuate the miners ahead of time. 

The company has yet to comment on this allegation. 

Sepadao has also filed a previous complaint against the company to the Mines and Geoscience Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB-7), which was not responded to. 

MGB-7 has inspected the area following thee landslide and will be releasing its assessment soon.

/bmjo