9 miners out of 16 rescued from flooded tunnel

By Dexter A. See

ITOGON, Benguet – Rescuers got out nine pocket miners as of press time from a tunnel here earlier flooded at the height of Typhoon Nina more than a week ago while the bodies of six others retrieved.

Only one miner, who is believed to be still alive, is now the subject of a massive search-and-rescue operation in the tunnel.

Rescued alive were Antonio Pagulayan, Jose Panio Jr., Gerry Monyubda, Jason Himmayod, Robert Buhway, Garry Gano, Gilbert Nattem, Mario Anayasan, and Rudy Boling Jr.

The fatalities were Jojo Himmayod, Vincent Himmayod, Rudy Himmayod, Juan Himmayod, Marvin Himmayod, and Joel Bulga.

Joseph Anayasan, Mario’s younger brother, who was reportedly seen alive by rescuers, allegedly got lost during the rescue operation.

During the initial rescue operations, relatives of the trapped miners and some rescuers appeared to have lost hope of rescuing the miners, but on the seventh, eight, and ninth days of operations, the efforts proved successful as three victims were saved each per day from the dark, flooded tunnel.

Following this, government and private groups pooled their resources for assistance to families of the 16 miners trapped in the Goldfield-Antamok mine tunnel of the Benguet Corp. when typhoon "Nina" hit Luzon over a week ago.

The families of each of the 16 miners, who either survived the nightmare or whose bodies were retrieved, will get at least P20,000 in cash from the pooled donations of the local government units and civic groups in the province.

Of the amount, P10,000 will come from the provincial government of Benguet, P5,000 from the municipal government of Itogon, P3,000 from Benguet Corp. (the company that owns the abandoned mine tunnel), and P2,000 from the Federation of Small-Scale Miners in Benguet (the umbrella organization of small-scale miners in the province).

Aside from the cash assistance, the provincial government will also distribute rice to the families of the victims. Other groups in the province are also trying to solicit donations for the victims, particularly the dead.