Philippines landslide toll jumps to 54 dead

The death toll from a massive Philippine landslide near a gold mine abruptly rose to 54 on Sunday, local officials said. Nineteen bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble in the southern mountain village of Masara, with 63 other miners and residents still missing, said the municipality of Maco, and provincial disaster official Randy Loy. The previous death toll given stood at 35. The landslide buried a bus terminal for employees of a gold mining firm and 55 nearby houses on Tuesday night, leaving 32 other people injured. Rocks, mud and trees slid more than 2,300 feet down a steep mountainside near the Apex Mining Co. concession, burying an 8.9-hectare section of the Masara community. - AFP