Ten dead in Philippines mine collapse

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SEMIRARA, Philippines, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Ten miners died in a coal mine collapse in the Philippines, where five men have been rescued and three others remain missing, officials said.

George San Pedro, resident manager of the Semirara Mining Corp. said a section of the west wall of the Panian mining pit gave way Wednesday night, GMA News reported.

"Five bodies of miners were found on Thursday after a coal mining tunnel of the Semirara Coal and Mining Corp. in Semirara village, Caluya town, Antique province collapsed due to a landslide at 11 p.m. Wednesday evening," said Eduardo del Rosario, undersecretary of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

San Pedro said the mining company has stopped operations until the cause of the collapse can be determined, Gulf News reported.

The Semirara Mining Corp. calls itself the only large-scale coal producer in the Philippines, boasting safeguards most smaller operations in the nation lack, GMA reported.