ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Hundreds of commuters were stranded after a landslide blocked the highway in Buug town in Zamboanga Sibugay on Friday night, police and disaster authorities said yesterday.
The highway links this city to seve-ral provinces of Mindanao.
The local Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported that the landslide occurred shortly after 10 p.m. in Barangay Buluan near the boundary of Zamboanga del Sur.
Authorities said soil and boulders rolled down from the cliff leaving the two-way road impassable to all types of vehicles.
“The police, local government and the Department of Public Works and Highways worked overnight to clear the highway and check if there were people buried under,†Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, spokesman for Police Regional Office 9, said.
Huesca said the clearing operation was completed by noon yesterday and no one was hurt or killed in the incident.