2 teens die in Northern Samar landslide

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Two teenaged construction workers were killed in a landslide Wednesday afternoon at a school in Lavezares town in Northern Samar.

Senior Superintendent Felix Diloy, director of the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office, identified the victims as Jonel Nabor and Elmer Abayon, both 17-year-old construction workers.

The weeklong heavy rains have caused flooding in the province, and a flash flood swept away a boulder and literally buried the two teenagers who, at the time, were excavating a building construction site inside the compound of the Libas Elementary School in Lavezares.

Diloy said he received a report from the Lavezares Municipal Police Station there were no other victims and that the buried bodies of the two were recovered after a three-hour operation of the police and the Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Council.

During the landslide, there were 10 other workers at the site of the construction of the school building, located at the foot of the mountain in Barangay Libas.

Diloy said the project contractor, CE Construction and Supplies, was already ordered to stop the construction works, while investigation is still going on. He also assured the public that the contractor will also be investigated on how they allowed minors to work in the construction, in violation of the law.

Earlier, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-8 declared 103 landslide-prone areas in Northern Samar province, and all affected local government units were already warned about it and be prepared, according to MGB-8 Regional Director Raul Lapot. (FREEMAN)