Two gold panners buried alive in Palawan tunnel

Two gold panners, one of whom was only 12 years old, were buried alive in Palawan province after the tunnel they were in caved in over the weekend. Radio dzXL on Monday cited reports indicating that the incident occurred in Caramay village in Roxas town in Palawan. The elder fatality was identified as Ricardo Daguman, 58. However, the name of the 12-year-old boy was not provided in the report. The initial investigation showed that the victims were panning for gold inside the tunnel when it suddenly caved in. Gold panning is a manual technique for sorting gold. Shallow pans are filled with sand and gravel that may contain gold. The pan is then submerged in water. After shaking the pan, the gold is separated from the gravel and other materials. The deaths of the two persons prompted the provincial council to initiate a move to ban illegal gold panning in the area. –VVP, GMANews.TV