MANILA (Reuters) – The number of missing from a landslide that struck a southern Philippine province rose to 110 on Thursday as rescuers recovered more bodies, bringing the official death toll to 11, disaster officials said.
The landslide happened on Tuesday night in the town of Maco in the province of Davao de Oro, burying homes and two buses, which a provincial official said were carrying more than two dozen passengers.
The number of missing had risen to 110 from the more than 40 previously reported, Maco’s disaster agency said in a statement posted on its social media account, adding more than 1,166 families had been evacuated from their homes.
Torrential rains have battered Davao de Oro in recent weeks, triggering floods and landslides.
Rosa Cristina Rosete-Manuel, spokesperson for the military’s Eastern Command helping lead the rescue operations, said rescuers remained hopeful of finding survivors.
“We are trying to remain positive,” she told Reuters by phone.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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