Desperate search for landslide survivors in Philippines continues
Philippine rescuers claw through landslide; 11 bodies already found, with little hope of finding survivors
ITOGON, THE PHILIPPINES: Rescuers in the Philippines used shovels and their bare hands to claw through mounds of rocky soil yesterday as they looked for dozens of people feared buried beneath a landslide unleashed by super typhoon Mangkhut.
Searchers have already pulled 11 bodies from the vast debris field in Itogon, in the disaster-hit nation's north. Up to 40 may still be buried, with little hope they have survived.
"We believe that those people there, maybe 99 per cent, are already dead," Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan told reporters.
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He later added that the search would continue till the rescuers give up. "There are relatives among the rescuers who are still hoping they will be able to find their kin alive."
A massive hillside, weakened by the monster storm's lashing rains, collapsed on a miners' bunkhouse about a half-kilometre below.
Mangkhut pounded the Philippines at the weekend with torrential rains and violent winds that snapped utility poles and sheared roofs off homes.
The authorities said dozens died in the storm, mostly buried in landslides.
Hundreds of rescuers in rows formed a human chain to pass rocks, debris and tree trunks out of the search area in Itogon.
With damaged roads preventing the entry of heavy equipment, soldiers, police and miners also used shovels and channelled water from a nearby stream to loosen the earth.
Mangkhut continued its wave of destruction on to Hong Kong, where there was no loss of life but it was a battle of another kind - to get to work.
Hong Kong commuters clambered over fallen trees and piles of debris yesterday to get to work, as the workaholic city strove to get back to business after the devastating typhoon.
Commuters crammed into stations to try to board infrequent trains after the rail system was slowed by damaged power lines. All buses were cancelled because many roads were blocked by fallen trees.
Some residents tackled an obstacle course to get to their jobs, climbing over broken branches, uprooted trees and even train tracks.
Schools were closed and a cleanup was in full swing, but there was anger that city leader Carrie Lam had not announced an official day off for workers.
When asked why she had not done so, Ms Lam told reporters it was up to employers to make that decision, but they must not penalise workers who were late or could not make it.
A picture of a large crowd of commuters squashed in to northern Tai Wai station went viral on social media with the hashtag #thankscarrie.
"There were trees down all over the place, no cars, no buses," said lawyer David Milligan, who works in Hong Kong's commercial hub of Central.
"I have my trainers on today because I knew I would be climbing over," he told AFP.
More than 300 people were injured in Hong Kong. - AFP
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