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Friday, October 28, 2005
6 killed, 50 others trapped in mine blast
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- At least 6 gold miners were killed and as many as 50 others were trapped and feared dead after an explosion inside a tunnel in the gold rush mountain of Diwalwal, officials said Thursday.
Officials said 10 injured miners were rescued inside the tunnel in Mount Diwalwal in the town of Monkayo in Compostela province. The tunnel is owned by JB Mining Corp.
"We recovered six bodies and rescued 10 injured miners and efforts are ongoing to find the other victims," Secretary Jesus Dureza, the presidential assistant for Mindanao affairs, said Thursday night.
Among those who died were Julio Galvez, Longkoy Miguel, Genesis Miguel, Joepert Malubay and William Catigbi.
Diwalwal village chieftain Franco Tito said as many as 50 miners were still trapped inside the tunnel following a huge explosion late Wednesday.
"We have reports saying that as many as 50 people still trapped down there and they could all be dead by now," he said.
He said heavy rains were making it difficult for rescuers and volunteers to dig for bodies or find survivors. "There was an explosion inside the cave and the tunnel gave in, trapping everybody," he said.
A sketchy report from the military said the explosion occurred at the Destino 52 Sunshine portal owned by the JB Management and Mining Corporation (JBMMC) at around 8 p.m.
The explosion reportedly happened at the "third layer portion" of the tunnel where explosives are said to be stored. Unconfirmed reports claimed that a miner went inside the storage room with a lit cigarette causing the explosion.
Mt. Diwata barangay captain Franco Tito said in a telephone interview they have a hard time rescuing the miners and ascertaining the real cause of the explosion as JBMMC would not allow the barangay, police and military personnel to enter the tunnel.
Tito said he already issued a stoppage order on all mining operations at the Tinago tunnel.
Monkayo Mayor Manuel Brillantes Jr., who was in Manila Thursday, said the report he received was that it was a cave-in. An official of JBMMC also said denied that the explosion was caused by dynamite explosives.
JBMMC vice president Reynaldo Española said the explosion could have been caused by acetylene tank or an electric transformer. He said it could not be due to explosives since these had long been banned by authorities.
Española also clarified that there were only about 18 miners inside the tunnel when the explosion happened at around 8 p.m. since the miners were already "changing shifts."
The JBMMC official admitted not allowing any barangay, police and military personnel to enter the tunnel until Thursday noon but explained this was because of the fumes coming out of the tunnel.
Española said it was only about 12:30 Thursday afternoon that rescuers were able to enter the tunnel and that the lack of oxygen tanks hampered their operation.
Dureza, who is supervising the rescue operations, said they would continue to search for survivors until all miners have been accounted for.
"This rescue operation will not stop until everybody has been recovered and accounted for," he said.
Investigations are underway to determine what triggered the explosion.
Diwalwal is a gold-rush area in the south where thousands of villagers have dug hundreds of tunnels despite strong warning from government people that the area is dangerous because of repeated landslides.
Officials said that estimated $18 billion worth of gold reserves remain untapped in the 5,000-hectare Mt. Diwalwal. (Al Jacinto of Sun.Star Zamboanga/Ben O. Tesiorna of Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
(October 28, 2005 issue)
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