Malapatan, Philippines—A landslide swept through a mountainous agricultural village in the Sarangani province on Wednesday morning. Days of relentless rain destabilized the hillside, causing tons of mud and rock to cascade onto a residential cluster below. Four homes were completely buried by the debris. Emergency responders recovered ten bodies from the mud during the initial response.

Local disaster management teams faced significant challenges reaching the site due to blocked access roads. Heavy mud and fallen trees cut off the remote community from the main municipal center. Rescuers were forced to travel on foot, carrying basic digging tools to begin the extraction process. The risk of secondary landslides loomed as intermittent rain continued to fall.

Five residents were rescued alive from the edge of the slide zone and treated for various injuries. They were carried on stretchers to a makeshift medical station established down the mountain. Two of the injured remain in critical condition due to severe chest trauma. The local clinic has requested additional blood supplies from the regional hospital.

Volunteers and soldiers used shovels and bare hands to sift through the thick mud where houses once stood. The force of the slide had pushed the structures several meters down the slope, compacting the timber and metal roofs. Hopes of finding more survivors diminished as the afternoon progressed and the mud shifted further.

The provincial governor visited the base of the mountain to coordinate the deployment of heavy earth-moving equipment. The machinery is currently trying to clear the main road to allow faster transport of relief goods. The local government has declared a state of calamity for the affected district to release emergency funds.

Geologists have warned that the surrounding slopes remain highly unstable, posing an immediate threat to the remaining homes. Authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of approximately fifty families from the high-risk zone. Many residents are hesitant to leave their livestock and farms despite the explicit warnings.

The dead have been moved to a temporary morgue set up in the municipal gymnasium. Local officials are working to assist families with funeral arrangements as the community process the sudden loss. The names of the ten victims will be officially published once all next of kin are verified.

Search operations have been suspended for the night due to darkness and the hazardous condition of the slope. Teams will resume clearing the mud at daybreak if the weather permits. The exact number of missing individuals remains unconfirmed as register logs are checked against survivor accounts.