THREE people died, while another was injured, after a mining pit they were digging collapsed in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, the police reported on Sunday, May 26.
Police Major Helen Galvez, Police Regional Office (PRO)-Zamboanga Peninsula information officer, said the incident occurred around 1:45 p.m., Friday, May 24, in the village of San Pedro, Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur.
Galvez identified the fatalities as Emmanuel Sarabia, 26; Edwin Paran, 22; and Lloyd Baylon, 21. Wounded was Junifer Narido, 28. He was taken to a hospital in Ozamiz City.
Galvez said investigation disclosed that Sarabia was doing excavation works at the lot of Edwin Poresores in the village of San Pedro when trapped inside the mining pit.
Galvez said Poresores tried but failed to rescue Sarabia prompting him to seek help.
She said that Paran, Baylon and Narido along with some other companions arrived around 5 p.m. bringing with them an excavator (backhoe) to be used in the retrieving Sarabia.
However, she said the three, before they could retrieve Sarabia, were also trapped as the mining pit further collapsed when they went down into the hole.
She said they were rescued around 20 minutes later but Paran and Baylon were already dead when they were plucked out from the mining pit.
She said the remains of Sarabia was recovered around 11:30 p.m. Friday. (SunStar Philippines)