BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya—The death toll has now reached five, including two rescue volunteers and three small-scale miners, following the loss of another rescue volunteer involved in the retrieval operation inside the mine tunnel in Sitio Balcony in Barangay Runruno here.
The second rescue volunteer who died was Johny Ayudan, 38, the brother of Lipihon Ayuda, 56, who was one of the three miners who were previously trapped and died inside the tunnel.
Johny, along with John Philip Guinihid and another volunteer, entered the tunnel on Wednesday, June 25, at dawn to assist in the rescue and retrieval operation. Unfortunately, they lost consciousness inside the tunnel, with only the third volunteer managing to escape.
At around 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Guinihid was pronounced dead, while Johny was brought out alive at approximately 3:30 p.m. and immediately rushed to the hospital. After spending a few days in the hospital, Johny passed away early in the morning on Friday, July 4.
The incident began on Monday night, June 23, 2025, when five small-scale miners entered the mine tunnel.
Alfred Dulnuan was the first of the five small-scale miners to be rescued alive, pulled from the tunnel at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24. He was followed by Joval Bantiyan, who was rescued alive at 7:30 p.m. on the same day.
The three other miners—Lipihon Ayudan, Daniel Segundo, and Florencio Indopia—were pulled out dead on Wednesday night, June 25.
Pastor Mario dela Cruz of the Philippine Bethel Church, Inc., who also served as a rescue volunteer, stated that “lack of oxygen caused the small-scale miners to faint and lose consciousness inside the tunnel, preventing them from escaping.”