MANILA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A government employee was killed and another was injured after a landslide buried them along the national highway in the municipality of Santa Praxedes, Cagayan province, in the northern Philippines on Friday morning.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Marlene Miralles told local radio that the Department of Public Works and Highways workers had been deployed near the Ilocos Norte-Cagayan boundary to assess an earlier, more minor landslide that had closed the highway when the larger slide occurred before 8 a.m. local time, burying the two.
Rescuers retrieved both victims, but one sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead at a nearby hospital. The other worker, who suffered an arm injury, is in stable condition.
Miralles said a third team member witnessed the incident and immediately called for help.
She added that a week of continuous rain had loosened the soil, triggering the landslide.
Clearing operations are ongoing to reopen the highway to motorists. ■
