MANILA, Philippines (AP) – A landslide rumbled down a mountainside on eastern Leyte island Friday, burying hundreds of houses and a school packed with elementary students. Red Cross officials estimated 200 dead and 1,500 missing.
“It sounded like the mountain exploded, and the whole thing crumbled,” survivor Dario Libatan told Manila radio DZMM. “I could not see any house standing anymore.”
Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, said an entire village appeared to have been buried, with perhaps 200 dead and 1,500 missing.
“There is no body count yet, it’s our estimate,” he told The Associated Press by telephone from Geneva. “We’re mobilizing rescue operations. This areas is infamous for landslides.”
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