Philippines: The death toll in a significant landslide that struck a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has risen to 54, with 63 individuals still unaccounted for, officials stated on Sunday.

The landslide occurred in Masara, a mountain village in Davao de Oro province, following a period of intense rainfall on Tuesday evening.

According to the provincial government’s Facebook post, 54 bodies have been retrieved, while 32 residents have been injured and 63 are still missing. Among the missing are gold miners who were waiting to be transported home in two buses when the landslide occurred, trapping them under debris.

The search and rescue operation has been hindered by poor weather conditions and concerns about additional landslides. Over 1,100 families have been evacuated to safety in response, according to disaster response officials.

Heavy rainfall in the weeks leading up to the landslide, along with recent earthquakes, have caused damage to homes and buildings in the region, officials added.

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