Two more bodies found at Mt. Diwalwal

DAVAO CITY — Two more bodies were found yesterday inside the collapsed tunnel at the gold-rush site at Mt. Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

It was earlier reported that at least 12 miners have perished in the explosion inside the Sunshine tunnel owned by the JB Management Corp. last Oct. 26.

The last six bodies to be recovered were found 875 meters from the mouth of the tunnel.

They were found by the combined team of local rescuers and and the search team from the Philex and Lepanto Mining firms in Northern Luzon that arrived here the other night.

The bodies, however, still have to be identified.

"The bodies remained unidentified because those who found them did not have the necessary tools and they also did not have body bags to put the remains in," Stela said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already sent a seven-man forensic team to Mt. Diwalwal to identify the victims of the mine blast and to determine the cause of the explosion.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said he ordered the deployment of their forensic team to the mining camp after Compostela Valley Rep. Manuel "Way Kurat" Zamora requested the bureau’s assistance in examining the bodies of the miners retrieved from the gold mine.

It was necessary to send a forensic team because some of those who died in the explosion may have already been unrecognizable.

"The seven forensic experts were expected in Davao yesterday because their flight was scheduled at 4 p.m. They will conduct autopsies and investigate the cause of the blast," said Wycoco. From the airport, they would travel to Compostela Valley.

Apart from the forensic experts, they will be assisted by the NBI regional office in Davao headed by Romulo Manapsal.

Thousands of lives have reportedly been lost in Mt. Diwalwal, considered to have the country’s largest desposit of gold ore, since mining operations in the area started in the early 1980s.

One of the foremost problems at Mt. Diwalwal is reportedly the lack of proper planning and mapping in the digging of the tunnels by both the small-scale miners and the major players in the area. — With Evelyn Macairan