Thursday, February 14, 2013
ILOILO CITY – At least three people were confirmed dead and seven others missing when the open pit mine of the Semirara Mining Corporation (SMC) in Antique collapsed Wednesday night.
SMC is the largest producer of sub-bituminous coal in the Philippines based in the island municipality of Caluya in Antique province.
In a statement issued early Thursday afternoon by George San Pedro, resident manager of the Semirara Mining Corp., he said 13 miners had been caught in the collapse of the west wall of the Pantian pit around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday.
Reports said the miners were having a break from their night time operation at the Panian open pit, the second open pit of the Semirara coal fired power plant, when it collapsed.
Rescuers were able to retrieve three miners which were then airlifted to Manila for treatment.
One of the missing persons is a cousin of Caluya Mayor Genevieve Lim who works as a supervisor. He was reportedly serving coffee to the workers when the incident happened.
The SMC is owned by DMCI Holdings, Inc. (DMCI-HI).
It was not immediately clear what triggered the landslide and if the rainy weather in the area contributed to the accident. Cruz said it happened far from residential areas.
Regional disaster-response officer Rosario Cabrera says authorities are coordinating with the company that runs the coal mine to help in the search and rescue. (AP/PNA/Sunnex) source
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