Rescue ops on-going for illegal miners trapped in Nueva Vizcaya tunnel

MANILA — Five illegal miners were trapped in a mining tunnel in Nueva Vizcaya on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Two were already rescued and survived the incident at around Tuesday evening.

"Ang kwento po nila doon ay 'yung depth ng ating tunnel ay 300 meters. So walang oxygen na pumapasok doon sa pinasukan nilang tunnel. Wala pong bumagsak. [Ang pagka-trap nila] ay due po sa na-inhale nila na methane sa loob ng tunnel," P/Maj. Sharon Mallillin, regional police information officer of Police Regional Office 2 said in an interview with DZMM TeleRadyo's Spot Report.

When asked why the miners did not have the right equipment to mine in the tunnel, Mallillin said this was because the five miners were not the official miners assigned to the area by a mining company.

"Itong lima kasi na ito ay hindi sila personnel ng mining company. Illegal silang nagmimina based po doon sa report," she said.

She added that the mining company supposed to legally mine in the area were the ones who even helped conduct rescue efforts.

Despite this, two civilian volunteers went inside the tunnel to look for the three remaining miners since one of them was their sibling.

However, as of the latest report, the two civilian volunteers also passed out inside the tunnel and are also set to be rescued.

"Nung pumasok ng tunnel 'yung dalawa, nawalan din sila ng malay. So they were trapped doon sa tunnel kasama 'yung tatlo pang biktima," Mallillin said.