BY VINCE JACOB VISAYA
BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya (May 8, 2024)—It took more than five hours before the bodies of three treasure hunters and a village councilor were retrieved by mine personnel on Monday evening, May 6, from a 10-meter-deep man-made pit at Barangay Magsaysay here.
The retrieved bodies from the pit were identified as Dionisio Alisen, 62, and Jeremias Padilla, 64, both residents of Sitio Sawmill, Barangay Mabuslo, and Selvino Mendoza, 63, resident of Purok 3, Barangay Banggot.
The fourth victim was barangay councilor Marlon Mateo Orden, 38, of Magsaysay Hill, who went to the pit and tried to rescue the three but fell off after smelling poisonous gas emanating from the pit.
The four victims were declared dead due to gas poisoning and lack of oxygen inside the pit.
According to Magsaysay village residents, the three treasure hunters went into the pit at around 8 a.m. to get their tools out from the pit for another project.
However, at around 10:00 a.m., authorities learned that four persons were trapped in the pit.
Earlier, residents said they overheard cries for help from somewhere, and this prompted Orden to immediately check the pit.
The villagers never heard from Orden again as the latter failed to get out of the pit due to gas poisoning and lack of oxygen. The councilor fell to the ground inside the pit.
Another rescuer was sent but was lifted immediately before fainting three meters deep inside the pit.
Before the retrieval operation around 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., villagers sought the help of the Didipio Mine of OceanaGold Philippines Inc.
The mining firm’s rescue and retrieval team secured the area and evacuated residents within the 60-meter radius due to high level of methane emission.
Didipio Mine experts found methane gas emissions from the pit with zero oxygen level.
The Didipio Mine team cleared the pit by pumping out methane emissions before its retrieval team entered to recover the bodies of the victims.
The retrieval team also warned residents to refrain from cooking using stove, as methane, which could still be in the surrounding, is highly flammable.
Among the agencies that joined the retrieval operation were the Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bambang Police Station, municipal and provincial disaster risk reduction management offices, and the Philippine Red Cross. The retrieval operation was declared complete at around 7 p.m. on Monday.