Compostela Valley Landslide kills 25, 100 missing

A landslide swallowed small-scale mining area in Pantukan, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines early Thursday morning, January 5, 2012, killing at least 25 people, and that more than 100 others remain buried in the rubble.

Maj. Jacob Obligado, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, said the landslide happened at around 3 a.m. in Sitio Diat Uno and Diat Palo in the barangay of Napnapan. Earlier reports said the landslide took place in the village of Kingking, Inquirer said.

Emergency workers were heading to the area to help dig for survivors and bodies.

Landslides are common in this area. Last April, some residents near the site of Thursday's slide were forced to evacuate after a landslide killed about 20 people.

In a separate report of Coolbuster, NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos in an interview said his theory is that the landslide could have been triggered by a January 5 (12:01 AM) earthquake that occured in the nearby province of Davao Oriental.