11 injured after landslide buries two buses in Davao de Oro

MANILA, Philippines — At least 11 people were injured when a rain-induced landslide buried two buses picking up workers from a gold mine in the southern Philippines, officials said.

The incident took place Tuesday evening in Maco municipality in the mountainous province of Davao de Oro, on the country's second-largest island of Mindanao, following days of heavy rain.

Eleven people were injured, with one in critical condition, the municipal disaster agency said Wednesday on Facebook.

It did not say how many people were on board the buses at the time of the landslide or whether rescue operations were ongoing.

Apex Mining, the Philippine operator of the gold mine, said the landslide struck outside the mine site, where buses wait for workers finishing their shifts.

"Apex Mining is currently working on tracing the whereabouts of the buses dispatched to ferry the outgoing employees," the company said in a statement issued late Tuesday.

"Rescue work is hampered by limited visibility and intermittent (land)slides."

Meanwhile, an evacuation order for five villages in Maco was posted on the municipal disaster agency's Facebook page Tuesday night.

Masara village, where the landslide happened, was among them.

Rain has pounded parts of Mindanao off and on for weeks, forcing tens of thousands into emergency shelters.

At least 16 people died from landslides and flooding in the region last week, the national disaster agency said in its latest update.