Four of those killed had been pulled by rescuers from the tons of debris, village chief Francisco ‘Franco” Tito told MindaNews on Tuesday.
Barangay captain Tito identified the dead as Ralph Soldia, 19; Rosemarie Mamaril, 16, who was five months pregnant; Marlito Bordios, Ryan Tata Rosales and Roderick Cabaluna.
Cabaluna’s remains had been located and rescuers are busy retrieving.
Reports from police and barangay officials said the landslide struck at around 7:30 pm while the victims were having dinner and watching television inside the homes owned by Endaman Jemlani, Bodie Manganyan and Lino Ilo in Sitio Summit, Purok (sub-village) 2.
Eight persons were inside the houses but three of them—Jimmy and Gilbert Barrera and Ronald Balsabar were able to run out before the moving mat of earth and boulder hit.
The survivors reportedly heard rumbling noises shortly before the landslide.
Heavy rains the past days were blamed for the disaster, as rescue teams and volunteer groups warned recurrence of similar incident if rains continue.
The village chief has not ordered evacuation in other areas in the village even as he advised residents to be “vigilant and careful.”
Comval Gov. Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy ordered the provincial disaster coordinating council to provide assistance to the victims, Paterno Lucero of the provincial information office said in a statement.
Lucero said Governor Uy has ordered the “assessment of identified danger zones by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the area to avoid similar incidents in the future.”
The Red Cross in Comval sent personnel in the area and conducted stress debriefing to affected families, Wilma Cuaycong, Red Cross provincial coordinator told MindaNews.
Barangay captain Tito said the barangay will start helping the victims once the
retrieval operation ends.
“Humanon usa namo ning retrieval usa mi mangita ug pamaagi unsa pay matabang (We will continue the retrieval operation for now and finish it before we start to find ways to help the victims)”, Tito said.
