MANILA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a landslide in Naga City in the central Philippine Cebu province has risen to 29, police said Friday.
Police said at least 67 people remain missing. A military report said at least 785 families or 2,481 people living around the landslide site have been evacuated.
Garry Cabotaje, the spokesperson for Naga City government, expressed hope that more survivors will be rescued a day after the tragedy hit the mountainside community.
The landslide occurred at around 6 a.m. local time on Thursday, burying more than 50 houses. Rescue teams are using backhoes and shovels to reach dozens of trapped people.
Authorities blamed the landslide in Naga City on heavy downpours that apparently loosened the soil, causing parts of the mountain to collapse.
Meanwhile, in the northern Philippines, rescuers are also continuing with a recovery operation to find the missing residents of a mining town, Itogon, in Benguet province, who were buried alive in another landslide as typhoon Mangkhut slammed the Philippine main Luzon Island on Saturday.
Police said the typhoon killed at least 95 people, and more than 30 bodies have been unearthed in the village of Ucab and 17 in Loakan in Baguio City. Most of the dead were buried alive in landslides triggered by heavy rains.
