THE bodies of six miners have yet to be found after a landslide struck a mining pit of Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) in Barangay Biga, Toledo City on Dec. 21, 2020.

The missing are Jose Carpentero, Jonwel Herediano, Simeon Laconas, John Paul Resuelo, Renante Sepada and Alfred Tautho.

Authorities believe they’re lying at the bottom of the pit.

On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, a joint operation conducted by the CCC management and the City Government stared draining the pit.

“We continued with our search and retrieval operation on Saturday and Sunday because this was the directive of the mayor, but we still couldn’t find them. That’s why we went ahead with the draining,” said Toledo City information officer Roseller Layan.

Layan said they already used a sonar device and K-9 dogs to try and find the bodies, to no avail.

He said they’ve continued to dig through the collapsed ground in hopes of making a discovery.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau 7, for its part, continues to investigate the incident.

On Wednesday, Jan. 6, the agency will send a team to survey the mine’s operation to help with its probe.

Meanwhile, the City Government announced that it already sent food to almost 400 families currently staying in two evacuation sites in Sitios Hag-it and Manokan in Barangay Biga.

They had been forced to leave their houses because of the danger posed by another landslide in their area.

“Of course, some of them are not happy with their current situation. Obviously, the City cannot provide them with the same comfort that they’re used to at home. However, we’ve already provided financial assistance to families of the four casualties. We’ve also distributed food packs and tents to the evacuees,” Layan said in Cebuano. (ANV / PJB)