Treasure hunters die inside Bukidnon tunnel

Cagayan de Oro City — A tunnel collapsed in Libona, Bukidnon, on Monday, killing two brothers who were digging for buried treasure, according to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office here.

The victims, whose identities have not been released, were trapped when the tunnel they were digging near a creek in Barangay Patpat caved in late in the afternoon.

Meantime, another treasure hunter was rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Last June, a treasure hunter died in a similar incident in Kadingilan, Bukidnon.

The victim, identified as Rene Gallardo, suffocated from carbon monoxide fumes from a generator used to drain water inside a cave in Sitio Tinago.

Gallardo was part of a group of eight treasure hunters who believed a hidden treasure was submerged in a pool inside the cave.

Four members of the group, including Gallardo’s father, escaped, but Gallardo collapsed at the cave entrance. Three others were also trapped inside.