‘Miracle’: girl rescued nearly 60 hours after Philippine landslide
- The youngster was found as rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to look for survivors
- Death toll in landslide-hit Philippine mountain village climbs to 27, with 89 missing
Rescuers recovered more bodies on Friday, raising the death toll from a landslide that struck a southern Philippine province to 27, but hopes of finding more survivors remain after a child was saved earlier in the day.
The rescue of a girl nearly 60 hours after the landslide hit a gold-mining village has been hailed as a “miracle” after searchers had given up hope of finding anyone alive.
The youngster, whose age has not been disclosed, had been among dozens of people missing after the rain-induced landslide hit the village.
She was found as rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to look for survivors in Masara village on southern Mindanao island, disaster agency official Edward Macapili of Davao de Oro province said.
“It’s a miracle,” Macapili said, adding that searchers had believed the missing were probably dead.
“That gives hope to the rescuers. A child’s resilience is usually less than that of adults, yet the child survived.”