3 Camarines miners drown in tunnel

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Three miners drowned when sea water flooded their tunnel on Tuesday afternoon in Barangay Palanas in Paracale, Camarines Norte, police said yesterday.

Superintendent Renato Bataller, Bicol police spokesman, identified the victims as Carlo Salen, 37, and Luis Sayson, 33, both residents of Barangay Tawig, Paracale town, and a certain Jay-Ar.

Bataller said an investigation by Chief Inspector Arnulfo Silcencio, Paracale police chief, showed that the three miners were inside the tunnel when the accident occurred at around 5 p.m. last Tuesday.

Probers said a certain Augusto Jordan financed the small-scale mining operation.

Gilbert Gonzales, regional technical director for Bicol of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), told The STAR that an explosion was heard before the incident.

“This is a small-scale mining operation and illegal (as) it has no DENR permit,” he said.

Paracale Mayor Romeo Moreno acknowledged the danger posed by small-scale gold mining activities in his municipality, but admitted that local officials are helpless in controlling mining operations in private properties.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said he has sent a team to verify the situation in the area.

“We are getting updates every now and then. We are asking for police assistance since the community is not that cooperative. Our field personnel are already coordinating with the mining operator in the area, along with local government personnel for an assessment of the situation,” Paje told a press conference yesterday.

He said Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) personnel are ready to help in the rescue and retrieval operations.

Initial reports from MGB-Region 5 showed that the tunnel collapsed following a dynamite blast. Since the tunnel was near the shoreline, the explosion may have caused sea water to flow into the collapsed area and trap the miners.

MGB regional director Theodore Rommel Pestano said the accident occurred inside the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement area of United Paragon Mining Corp.

Local authorities denied reports that 20 miners had been trapped when the tunnel collapsed. – With Francis Elevado, Rhodina Villanueva – By Celso Amo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)