Workers trapped in Apo geothermal plant

Following the 6.4 magnitude rocked Tulunan town at 9:14 a.m. on Thursday, the Army 72nd Infantry Battalion reported that around 100 personnel workers were trapped in the Mt. Apo Geothermal Power Plant in Barangay Ilomavis, Kidapawan City.

In a statement, Colonel Rey Alvarado, commanding officer of the battalion, said that roads leading to the power plant were rendered impassable by fallen rocks and debris, noting that many of the Ubo Manobo lumads living on the side of Mt. Apo have come down to Kidapawan after rocks as big as boulders crushed their houses.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), on the other hand, sent more troops to Kidapawan City and Tulunan town in North Cotabato as reports of deaths and residents left homeless continue to pour in from stricken areas.

The temblor collapsed buildings that were already weakened by two previous strong quakes and in a report from the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division of the Province of Cotabato, five have died in the town of Makilala.

Aside from those who died due to the quake, more than 5,200 residents in Makilala town were also rendered homeless after their houses were destroyed by the quake according to Caritas Philippines, a Church-based relief agency.

Lieutenant Colonel Ezra Balagtey, Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao spokesperson, said elements from two army brigades—the 901st brigade and 1002nd brigade—have joined forces for the relief efforts.