Rescuers search for missing after strong Philippine quake

Manila - Rescuers dug through debris and mud in the central Philippines Tuesday in search of dozens missing a day after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake triggered landslides, collapsed houses and killed at least 43 people.

More than 400 soldiers were dispatched to several villages in the central province of Negros Oriental, 570 kilometres south of Manila, which suffered the most damage from Monday’s quake, said army Colonel Francisco Zosimo Patrimonio.

At least 40 people were missing in one village in La Libertad town in Negros Oriental, where about 40 houses were buried in a landslide, Patrimonio said Tuesday.

He said on Monday that 43 people had been confirmed dead across Negros Oriental province, including 29 people in a landslide in the village of Planas in Guihulngan City.

Guihulngan City Mayor Ernesto Reyes said search operations were being hampered by strong aftershocks.//DPA