(as of 1:09 PM Feb. 17, 2006)
A noontime landslide hit barangay Guinsagon in Saint Bernard town, Southern Leyte this noon (11:30 a.m. Philippine time), wiping out the entire barangay, including hundreds of houses and a public school, officials said.
Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias said a mountain of mud and sand gave in past 11 a.m. today, covering the entire barangay in this town, resulting to the unconfirmed death of hundreds of persons.
One resident, Beauty, said she was in the town proper to buy milk for her months-old baby when she learned of the landslide. She said she left her baby to the care of her mother and a helper. She said her mother and the helper were buried in the mudslide.
Several other residents who were working on a neighboring mountain claimed they have lost loved ones and children, especially those who were attending a public school in the barangay.
Rescue workers found it hard to penetrate the area because of the mud and the lack of equipments.
