MOUNT DIWATA (Reuters/AP) — The death toll from a cave-in at a gold mine in the southern Philippines has risen to 12 after rescuers pulled out six more bodies from the rubble, officials said on Saturday.
Rescue teams found the bodies late on Friday near the mouth of the tunnel that had caved in after an explosion on Wednesday, said Reynaldo Espanola, an official of the company operating the collapsed tunnel on Mindanao island.
As this developed, President Arroyo yesterday ordered authorities to crack down on illegal mining in Compostela Valley province to prevent another devastating tunnel collapse in the gold-rush area.
‘’We’re only trying to account seven more people,’’ the company official told reporters. "We’re not giving up until we find them, hoping that they’re still alive.’’
Five bodies and 11 injured miners had been pulled out on Wednesday night. A sixth body was taken from a second tunnel where toxic fumes had seeped in on Thursday.
Espanola, vice president of JB Mining and Management Corp., said the company had been operating the 1.8 km-long Sunshine tunnel for more than 10 years without any accident, producing about 20 to 30 tons of gold daily.
Most rescue work was suspended Friday due to toxic fumes, but Espanola said vacuuming gases from the tunnel and pumping in fresh air had let rescuers recover four bodies later in the day. The body of a worker in a nearby tunnel, not owned by the company, was recovered Friday, police said.
Espanola said about seven other miners were still in the mine, disputing village leaders’ reports that dozens remained buried in the tunnel in the mountain village of Mount Diwata, about 930 kilometers (580 miles) southeast of Manila.
It was not clear whether any of those trapped could still be alive in the tunnel.
Village chief Franco Tito, quoting blast survivors, said that about 50 people were still in the mine, though he felt it was unlikely that they were alive.
However, Espanola said that "if there were that many, there would be crying widows here now — but there aren’t.’’
Espanola also disputed reports, attributed to other survivors, that a dynamite cache in the tunnel caused the blast. He declined to comment when asked if the company ever used explosives.
"The cause of the explosion is still undetermined,’’ he said, adding that engineers have speculated that a pocket of methane gas exploded.
Provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Nestor Quinsay said he sent a bomb squad to site Saturday to determine whether explosives caused the blast.
Espanola hinted that the discrepancy in the casualty figures may have been due to political rivalry. The village chief lost to the brother of the mine owner in last year’s mayoral election in Monkayo town, a jurisdiction that includes Mount Diwata village, he said.
"I did not invent these figures,’’ Tito said. ``It did not come from me. What do I have to gain if I lie?’’
Mining accidents are common near Mount Diwata, which is believed to sit atop a rich gold deposit.
The accident happened as the Philippines rolls out the welcome mat for foreign investors to revive its moribund mining sector to take advantage of high prices of gold and other metals.
The government has said the country has $1 trillion worth of unexplored mining reserves, enough to pay off the country’s public sector debt of $95 billion many times over.
GMA orders crackdown on illegal mining in South
By GENALYN D. KABILING
President Arroyo yesterday ordered authorities to crack down on illegal mining in Compostela Valley province to avert another devastating tunnel collapse in the gold rush area.
The President expressed anguish over the collapsed mine last Wednesday night that left 12 people dead and seven others still missing at the Mt. Diwata area in Monkayo town, Davao.
"The President shares the grief of the bereaved families in this grave tragedy, and wants a strict enforcement of regulations that would forestall a reoccurrence," an official statement from Malacanang read.
The President also ordered the search for survivors until all miners have been accounted for. She said the Office of Civil Defense and other concerned agencies have expedited the search and rescue operations "to save as many lives as possible."
"Our people on the ground will try to save lives and prevent the loss of more in this gold rush area," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has started an in-depth investigation into the incident "to determine any culpabilities and violations of law."
Reports attributed the collapse to explosives stored inside the tunnel operated by JB Mining Corp. in the gold-rich Diwata area. The Mining Act of 1995 has banned the use of explosives in small scale mining operations.
Environment Secretary Michael Defensor earlier said his department has not sanctioned the mining activity at the site of the blasts. He said the DENR would step up the campaign against illegal small-scale mining in the 5,000-hectare Mt. Diwata.
The gold rush area has been the site of bloody clashes over mining claims to the extent of sabotaging the mining tunnels of rivals.
The President has strongly pushed for responsible and sustainable mining in the country amid the anticipated deluge of multi-billion-dollar foreign investments in the recently opened industry.
She has created the Minerals Development Council to prevent widespread ecological damage with the revitalization of the mining sector.
The Arroyo government is pinning its hopes on the mining industry to bring in some $4 billion to $6 billion in fresh investments in the next five years.
The country’s potential mining resources are estimated at $840 billion, or
