Police: 3 miners die of suffocation in Benguet

Three miners died of suffocation after being trapped in a tunnel in Itogon town in Benguet in northern Philippines early this week, police said. "Na-suffocate iyong [mga minero sa loob ng] tunnel [dahil] may [bumigay] na lupa, kaya 'di nakapasok iyong hangin, kaya na-poison sila," Itogon deputy police chief Senior Inspector Diosdado Manding said. (The miners suffocated because part of the mine caved in. The oxygen supply was insufficient that's why the trapped miners were poisoned.) The incident took place at Sitio Luneta Antamok in Barangay Loakan in Itogon, a mining town. The victims were identified as Jojo Ramirez, 23, and Edgar Sucalo, 35, both of Pangasinan; and Rolly Gilles, 35, of Southern Leyte. Quoting the account of mine owner John Latugan, Manding said six of the 18 miners digging for ore were left behind after a suspected cave-in occurred 11 a.m. Tuesday. "Pumasok iyong mga miners [ng] 7 p.m. ng March 29 sa tunnel. Na-discover nila na may suspected [cave-in] ng 11 a.m. ng March 30 kaya lumabas iyong iba. Naiwan itong anim, na-rescue ang tatlo na buhay. [Iyong natirang tatlo], nakuha nila pero patay na," Manding said. (The miners entered the tunnel at around 7 p.m. of March 29. After discovering a suspected cave-in at 11 a.m. of March 30, most of them managed to get out, but six were left. Three of them were rescued, but the other three were already dead when they were retrieved.) The bodies of Ramirez, Sucalo, and Gilles were retrieved around 2 p.m. Wednesday, Manding said. - with Nikka Corsino/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV