Rescuers Hear Only Silence From Sea of Mud
Richard C. Paddock and Alex Santos
Los Angeles Times, CA
________________
Guinsaugon (Philippines):
Rescue workers and soldiers searched for survivors without success Saturday in the sea of mud that covered what had been a thriving village of more than 1,800 people.
Authorities said more than 1,000 of the inhabitants of this remote village on Leyte Island were missing and might have died in the landslide that struck Friday morning after two weeks of heavy rain. Rescuers, who reported pulling 57 survivors from the muck Friday, said they did not find any more Saturday.
With the mud 30 feet deep, it was nearly impossible to reach the buildings underneath. Landmarks and even the tops of palm trees had been obliterated; simply finding where structures once stood was difficult. The mud was so soft in some places that the rescuers sank up to their waists.
Unable to use bulldozers because of the unstable soil, they dug with hand tools or just their hands. At times, they encountered boulders as big as houses that the mud had pushed down the mountain.
An elementary school that rescue crews had been trying to uncover remained out of reach. As many as 250 students were believed trapped."We're still hoping for a miracle," Southern Leyte province Gov. Rosette Lerias said early today. "Maybe huge boulders rolled around or over the school, blocking mud and forming a sort of air pocket for those trapped."
Richard C. Paddock and Alex Santos
Los Angeles Times, CA
________________
Guinsaugon (Philippines):
Rescue workers and soldiers searched for survivors without success Saturday in the sea of mud that covered what had been a thriving village of more than 1,800 people.
Authorities said more than 1,000 of the inhabitants of this remote village on Leyte Island were missing and might have died in the landslide that struck Friday morning after two weeks of heavy rain. Rescuers, who reported pulling 57 survivors from the muck Friday, said they did not find any more Saturday.
With the mud 30 feet deep, it was nearly impossible to reach the buildings underneath. Landmarks and even the tops of palm trees had been obliterated; simply finding where structures once stood was difficult. The mud was so soft in some places that the rescuers sank up to their waists.
Unable to use bulldozers because of the unstable soil, they dug with hand tools or just their hands. At times, they encountered boulders as big as houses that the mud had pushed down the mountain.
An elementary school that rescue crews had been trying to uncover remained out of reach. As many as 250 students were believed trapped."We're still hoping for a miracle," Southern Leyte province Gov. Rosette Lerias said early today. "Maybe huge boulders rolled around or over the school, blocking mud and forming a sort of air pocket for those trapped."
