FUTILE SEARCH Mayor Jupiter Abulog (second from left) of Rosario, Agusan del Sur, talks with rescuers throughout his go to on July 8 on the collapsed gold mining tunnel, the place 4 “abanteros” (mine staff) had been trapped. Rescuers had been solely in a position to retrieve one physique and seek for the three others failed. —Photograph from Mayor Jupiter Abulog’s Fb web page
FRANCISCO, AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines — The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) together with native authorities officers, determined to seal off the deserted mine tunnel in neighboring Rosario city on this province, the place 4 miners had been buried when an adjoining tunnel collapsed on July 3.
Of the 4 who had been trapped beneath, solely the physique of mine employee Jeffrey Tabugon, 29, was recovered, in line with Michael Rhay Hambala, the village chief of Bayugan III the place the tunnel is situated.
For days, rescuers tried to seek for the our bodies of the three miners—Arnel Alvarado, 38; Richard Bustamante, 29; and John Mark Balagno, 28—earlier than they lastly ended the retrieval operations on July 15.
READ: 2 discovered alive in collapsed mine
The employees had been amongst these employed by a small-scale mining operator who revived the deserted tunnel at Sitio Mahunok in Barangay Bayugan III.
However barely two weeks after the beginning of the operation, the neighboring tunnel collapsed, burying the 4 staff below the bottom.
Eutiquio Quimada, the group chief of the tunnel operation, stated no less than 22 different mine staff had simply exited the tunnel on July 3 once they heard a loud burst of water, which they believed got here from an adjoining deserted tunnel that had collapsed.
Quimada stated they waited till the water subsided earlier than trying to find the 4 staff.
Well being, security dangers
MGB officers stated the deserted tunnel was situated about 15 kilometers from the minahang bayan (neighborhood mine) and was working illegally. Nevertheless it was not but clear whether or not or not the operator would face authorities sanctions from the unlawful operation.
Hambala, the incident commander of the barangay’s catastrophe response group, instructed reporters they needed to name off the retrieval operation that started on July 3, due to the rescuers’ security.
He stated the collapsed tunnel in Sitio Mahunok was flooded with contaminated water, whereas the air that rescuers breathed already posed hazards to their well being.
Barangay officers and the native authorities of Rosario city additionally selected July 15 to seal off the collapsed web site completely to stop future makes an attempt to revive the tunnel.
Tabugon’s stays had been laid to relaxation on the Bayugan III’s public cemetery, whereas the households of the three lacking victims had been allowed to supply their prayers and pay their final respects on the mine web site.
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Rochelle Santos, the proprietor of the tunnel operation, promised a compensation of P100,000 for every of the affected households. /cb
