The number of deaths in a landslide that hit Barangay Masara in Maco town, Davao de Oro has climbed to 37 as the search, rescue, and retrieval operation entered its fifth day on Sunday. 

The Maco municipal disaster risk reduction and management office confirmed the recovery of a total of 37 bodies as of noon on Sunday, while 63 others remained missing.

In a radio interview, Davao de Oro executive assistant for communications and public relations, Edward Macapili, said no landslide survivor was found since Saturday. 

“But the number of cadavers being recovered is increasing,” he noted.

According to Macapili,  the entire landslide area from crown to foot is 1.9 hectares and the thickness of the soil that got dumped on the village varies from 30 meters to 50 meters—making it difficult to conduct SRR and clearing operations.

Macapili said the rescuers had to stop the operation for two hours on Saturday after detecting a movement or scarring of the soil from the landslide area at the back of the mountain. 

The rescuers were immediately ordered to evacuate, he added. 

Meanwhile, the scattered rains in the area on early Sunday forced rescuers to evacuate to safer grounds from time to time. Rescuers also have to endure the movement of the ground at the landslide area’s “Ground Zero.”

“Today, the sky was dark and it was raining last night until early this morning. In spite of that, our operation continues,” Macapili said.

Macapili said most of the retrieved bodies were found in sections of the slide, which are only eight to 10 meters thick. 

Other miners and responders from different provinces have already volunteered to hasten the SRR operation in the area. 

Macapili said volunteer miners from Agusan del Sur have recovered two bodies. 

He said the Davao de Oro still welcomes anyone who would like to help in the SRR operation. 

“But they need to coordinate with the incident commander at the ground zero because we prioritize the safety of everyone,” he noted.