THE Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) advised bikers not to pass by the Mandug-Acacia Bypass Road in Purok Sto. Niño, Barangay Mandug, Davao City as the earth is still soft due to the ongoing road construction.
At past 7 a.m. Tuesday, March 23, a landslide occurred along the bypass road. Witnesses initially said that the landslide buried three persons.
Residents in the area tried immediately to rescue the victims and were able to save a female victim, who was rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
Rescuers from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team of Central 911 rushed to the area and conducted search and rescue operations.
Around noon, one of the victims, identified as Harvey Mar Cipriano Panes of Trento, Agusan del Sur, was recovered but he was already dead.
Photos of the incident show rescuers retrieving the body of Panes, who was in his cycling gear, and his damaged bike.
Rodrigo Bustillo, operations and warning officer of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said around 11 a.m. of the same day that he also believed that three persons were buried in the landslide.
Bustillo said this while the search and retrieval operations were ongoing for the third body. But witnesses claimed that another body was buried. These two were believed to be a motorist and their passenger.
Around 3 p.m. of the same day, however, the rescue team terminated the search and retrieval for the victims as those who were believed to be buried alive showed up and informed the incident commander that they were able to pass the road before the landslide happened.
Bikers frequent the area as it is overlooking the city.