Landslide buries villages, killing at least 15 people in Philippines

A landslide set off by heavy rains buried homes under part of a mountainside in the central Philippines on Thursday, and several people are feared buried, including two who sent text messages seeking help. 

Officials said 15 people were killed and several injured.

The collapse buried about 30 small houses in two villages after daybreak in Naga city in Cebu province. 

Roderick Gonzales, the police chief of Naga city, told The Associated Press by telephone that rescuers were at the scene and more were coming. 

It's not known how many people lived in the houses or how many were able to escape.

"We're running out of time. The ground in the area is still vibrating. We're striking a balance between intensifying our rescue efforts and ensuring the safety of our rescuers," Naga City Councilor Carmelino Cruz Jr said.

Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong said that at least 64 people were still missing.

Victims sent text messages 

"We're really rushing to save people, time is of the essence, because some victims still managed to send text messages after the landslide," Gonzales said.

He said three of the dead were elderly women and a child.

Resident Vhann Quisido had a lucky escape when a tide of earth and rocks came to a halt behind his house.

"I was sleeping when I heard a loud noise," he said by telephone. 

"I was waiting for the land to come into our house. It was very traumatic."

Naga is a coastal city with a population of more than 100,000. 

Cebu province was not directly hit by Typhoon Mangkhut, which pounded the northern Philippines on Saturday and left more than 80 people dead and 70 missing, mostly in landslides.

The mountain where Thursday's landslide occurred has limestone quarries and the rains may have loosened part of the mountainside.

Hunt continues for Mangkhut victims

As Thursday's rescue unfolded, efforts continued in the hunt for bodies in the mining area of Itogon in the mountainous north of the Philippines, which was the area worst hit by the typhoon and known for gold mining.

Mangkhut swamped fields in the nation's agricultural north and smashed houses when it tore through at the weekend.

Itogon is one of the country's oldest mining hubs, with known gold panning activity stretching back to before the 17th-century Spanish colonial conquest.

Thousands of people from all over the country still flock to the upland town seeking their fortune in largely unregulated mining, which is accompanied by periodic deadly accidents.