MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Filipino President Benigno Aquino has ordered an investigation of a landslide that killed at least 25 people in a gold mining village in the Compostela Valley.
Aquino said local officials were warned last April about the risks of living and mining in the area. Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the local officials were told residents should be evacuated from the area, GMA News reported Thursday.
More than 100 people were missing after the landslide Thursday destroyed dozens of shanties at the Panganason site.
The Philippine Star said heavy rains in the Mindanao region are believed to have triggered the 3 a.m. collapse.
Benito Ramos, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, said rescuers found 25 bodies at the site. Fifteen people were recovered alive.
