Survivor: Young child miraculously saved after being trapped under debris for 60 hours in Philippine landslide

A young girl, only three years old, has been miraculously rescued from a landslide in southern Philippines after being buried for sixty hours. Rescuers had already given up hope of finding survivors when the child was discovered on Friday. The landslide occurred near a gold mining village called Masara in the Davao de Oro province in the Mindanao region. Tragically, the incident has claimed the lives of 28 individuals, with approximately 77 others still missing. Photos and videos shared on the Philippine Red Cross Facebook page show rescue workers carrying the girl, swaddled in an emergency blanket and connected to an oxygen tank, to a nearby hospital. Edward Macapili, a disaster agency official, described it as a miracle, highlighting the resilience of children compared to adults. Provincial disaster chief Randy Loy expressed hope that more individuals could be saved, despite already four days having passed since the disaster. However, he cautioned that survival chances decrease significantly after the initial 48 hours. The landslide took place on Tuesday evening, engulfing houses and vehicles waiting to transport mine workers. Landslides are a common occurrence in the Philippines due to its mountainous topography, heavy rainfall, and extensive deforestation from mining and illegal logging. The region of Mindanao has been experiencing continuous heavy rains, leading to landslides and flooding that have displaced tens of thousands of people, forcing them into emergency shelters. Rescue efforts were temporarily halted when a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck on Saturday, causing no reported fatalities or injuries, according to the Philippine Star.