Officials hopeful of rescuing more people in Maco

Search and rescue, or SAR, operations have been ongoing since the landslide hit a mining site in Maco, Davao de Oro, last Tuesday, but disaster officials are still hoping that they can save more lives, four days after the disaster struck.

“Since the very start of the operation, we always call it search, rescue, and retrieval teams being deployed to the ground,” said Joseph Randy Loy, head of Davao de Oro's Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, in a briefing on Saturday.

“Operations conducted are always search and rescue since the first 48 hours; we're always doing... and hopeful for life to be taken in the areas where the rubbles are.”

He went on to explain the tactical procedures in SAR, wherein they provide immediate medical assistance to victims, such as bringing them to the nearest hospitals.

“If we deal with search and rescue, it's really dealing more of saving more lives, anticipating that there are really more lives in the area and we are able to respond to them and bring them to the nearest hospital or healthcare facilities for them to be taken care of.”

He added: "After 48 hours, we still consider it search, rescue, and retrieval because, at this point in time, there were some concerns in the area that we have to consider, those who have been identified as already dead on the spot.”

"But yesterday we will still be able to respond and rescue the child in the rubble. We are still hoping that a lot of people are still alive,” noting that the majority of the victims they rescue are children.

“We are still hoping more will be saved, even on the fourth day of operation.”

When asked what the chances of survival are four days after the disaster, Loy answered, “Chances of survival, we really cannot guarantee. There are these so-called "pockets" within these rubbles that would allow them to breathe."

He continued, "As to the extent of how long this oxygen will be able to supply them, it depends on the situation that is under there."

On Friday, two kids—a two-month-old boy and a three-year-old girl—were rescued alive after being trapped in the rubble for nearly 60 hours.

According to provincial DRRMO officer Edward Macapili, the female child was able to be traced due to the sniffing of a K9 dog, was rescued through manual digging, and is now stable.

SAR operations have been put to a halt in the past few days due to rains brought by the LPA trough.

The rain-induced landslide hit on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. at the mining site in Zone 1, Bgy. Masara, Maco, burying vehicles with passengers, and an unverified number of houses

The latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council shows that the death toll due to the landslide is now at 27, while at least 35 people were injured and 89 individuals are still missing.