ARGAO, Cebu – Rescuers Thursday night last week successfully plucked two miners from a stone quarry that collapsed after a landslide hit Barangay Calasagan, Argao, a southern town in Cebu province Cebu Thursday morning.

The two miners, identified as Nelson Pantojan and Nitoy Alforque, were rescued from the collapsed stone quarry at around 10 p.m.

Thursday, nearly 12 hours after they were reported trapped inside said quarry in Barangay Calasagan.

The landslide, triggered by incessant rains, blocked the remote stone quarry, leaving the two miners trapped. Small-scale miners have been digging limestone in the area for almost two years.

Heavy rains had weakened the soil in the mountainous area. Loosened earth, along with boulders, slid and blocked the entrance of the quarry.

Argao is about 66 kilometers from the heart of Cebu City and Barangay Calagasan is 20 kilometers further inland the town. The cream stone quarry is owned by a certain Rogelio Fuentes.

Residents of the place said that those who want to get stones are welcome to go down the quarry and Fuentes would pay them for what they would bring up the surface.

The cave-in reportedly happened at 9 a.m., but the people of the barangay did not immediately seek help from the town as they thought they could rescue Pantojan and Alforque themselves.

It was only at around 2 p.m. in the afternoon when the call for help reached Argao Vice Mayor Stanley Caminero who rushed to the scene, bringing along with him two back hoes to help dig out the victims.

Utilizing the heavy equipment was later abandoned as the two cried out from the earth’s shaking with their use, and saying they were worried that the entire quarry might collapse and totally burying them both for good.

Another miner, 22-year-old Joey Langi, was lucky to have gone out just before the landslide occurred. He said they asked him to check what was happening outside since they heard something like a crushing sound and felt the earth shaking. He ran for his life when he saw boulders falling and sought help from residents.

Rescuers from the Mama Boria Sunrise Industries (MBSI), Argao Police Station and a medical rescue team joined hands in efforts to rescue Pantojan and Alforque from the collapsed quarry.