A 41-year-old woman died in a landslide while trying to save her dog in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Antipolo, Rizal on Sunday, July 16.
The police identified the victim as Dina Saban.
Based on the initial report, Saban died when a wall from a nearby construction site suddenly collapsed following the heavy downpour in the area.
Barangay Sta.Cruz Chairperson Cirilio Tenorio said that the wall collapsed around 7 p.m. after residents heard a loud explosion before it came crashing down. The second portion of the wall collapsed after 30 minutes, which allowed residents to safely evacuate from the area.
Tenorio explained that the victim was cooking when the incident happened. Upon hearing the first explosion, she hurriedly evacuated her niece from their house and went back to save her dog.
The chairman said barangay officials and rescuers from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) rushed to the site to conduct the rescue operation. Saban and her dog's remains were recovered after three hours due to the thick mud.
"Nahirapan pa po kami muna dahil ang lagkit ng lupa. Buti na lang po at may nagpahiram ng backhoe para agarang mahukay namin yung natabunan. Hinanap po namin, di namin makita. Di matunton kung saang lugar yung talagang nadaganan yung tao kaya naghukay kami nang naghukay hanggang sa nakita namin. Lumabas yung ulo at dun namin ginamit yung mano-mano na para hindi masyadong nasalanta yung katawan (We initially had difficulty in rescuing her due to the thickness of the soil. Luckily, a backhoe was lent to us to dig through the rubble. We were not sure on the exact location of where the victim was buried so we kept on digging until we saw her head. We switched to digging manually to prevent inflicting more harm on her )," Tenorio said in a TV interview.
Around 22 families or 53 individuals were affected by the landslide and are now staying in modular shelters provided by the barangay. They were also given relief goods.
Tenorio said the construction company had already coordinated with the affected families and the local government for the distribution of financial aid and assistance for the repair of their damaged homes.