BETWEEN 40 and 50 persons are feared to have been buried alive in a massive landslide in Ucab, Itogon town in Benguet at the height of Typhoon Ompong (international name Mangkhut), which barreled through the Cordillera highlands and the rest of northern Luzon on Saturday, September 15.

Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon said the casualty count from Typhoon Ompong could easily reach at least 100.

"The casualties can rise because we fear there are people in the bunkhouse because we are not certain of the numbers. We are saying that 40 to 50 people were there. They were inside when the building went missing, people saw that. That is what I fear. That if this is true, the number of dead here due to Ompong could really rise beyond 100," Palangdan said in a news conference Monday, September 17.

He said there was "99 percent (chance) that they really are all dead."

As of Monday, September 17, Ompong left Cordillera region with at least 54 dead, 49 missing, and 33 injured. Of the 54 fatalities in the region, 34 were from Itogon town.

In the village of Ucab, Palangdan said rescuers have dug out 11 bodies from a muddy mound covering two small-scale mining bunkhouses and a former miners' bunkhouse which had been turned into a chapel.

Dozens of residents sought shelter there during the storm Saturday despite warnings it was dangerous.

“They laughed at our policemen. They insisted. They were resisting when our police tried to pull them away. What can we do?" Palangdan said.