Three miners, rescuer die in Nueva Vizcaya tunnel
BAGUIO CITY — The bodies of the three remaining miners and a 20-year-old rescuer were recovered from a mine tunnel in Quezon town, Nueva Vizcaya.
Daniel Segundo, 47, was retrieved at around 9:53 p.m. on Wednesday, while Florencio Indopia, 63, and Lipihon Ayudan, 56, were recovered at past midnight, Thursday.
Quezon town health officer Dr. Julie Ann Cepeda Bingayan officially declared them dead.
The three fatalities, including Alfred Dulnuan and Joval Bantiyan, were among the five small-scale miners who went into the mining tunnel on Monday evening.
Mr. Dulnuan and Mr. Bantiyan, who were initially reported dead, were found alive on Tuesday.
One of the rescue volunteers, local resident John Philip Guinihid, 20, however, died while helping in the rescue operations. He was pulled out from the tunnel at around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Pastor Mario dela Cruz of the Philippine Bethel Church, Inc., one of the volunteer rescuers, said the miners likely succumbed to oxygen deprivation, which caused dizziness and loss of consciousness inside the tunnel.
Members from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, FCF Minerals Corp., Barangay Local Government Unit, Municipal Local Government Unit, OceanaGold Philippines Inc. and other volunteer groups joined the 3-night, 2-day rescue and retrieval efforts. — Artemio A. Dumlao
