MANILA: Filipino rescuers who dug by hand to save people buried by a landslide were losing hope of finding 21 still missing in the disaster that killed at least three people in a remote gold mining village, officials said Saturday. One miner pulled from the mountain of mud and rocks said he's survived three landslides in and around the mines, including one that killed his brother, but he can't afford to quit his job despite the dangers. The shanties and tents where miners and some of their families slept were buried under about 100 feet (30 meters) of mud, soil, rocks and other debris after they were struck by the landslide before dawn Friday, Compostela Valey provincial Gov. Arturo Uy said. Uy said landmarks that could help rescuers locate bunkhouses and tunnel entrances also were destroyed when tons of rain-soaked debris cascaded down a mountain in the village of Kingking in Pantukan township in the country's south. Soldiers, police and miners used shovels and their bare hands to dig out 11 survivors. “Honestly, I believe it would be very hard to find survivors,” Uy said Saturday. Regional civil defense officer Lisa Maso said, “Only a miracle can save them.” Jay Celades was teary-eyed recalling his third time surviving a landslide. The 26-year-old said he, his younger brother and two others banged on the steel rails for six hours inside a mine shaft, knowing they would eventually be heard by rescuers. By midday Friday, workers dug through about 20 feet (six meters) of debris that blocked the tunnel opening to free them. “All we could do was hope, but I prayed and prayed hard to come out alive,” he said.
