After five days of intensive search and retrieval operations, the bodies of Ely and Thelma Ubatay, a couple engaged in vegetable trading, were recovered on Wednesday morning in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao here.
The couple, both aged 60, had been missing since Saturday night, October 18, when a massive landslide caused the collapse of a major section of the Bukidnon-Davao road.
According to Bukidnon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Johan Damasco, rescue teams located the couple after a sniffer dog pointed to their exact location in the ravine where they were buried under soil and debris.
The retrieval effort involved Quezon and provincial responders, along with soldiers, police, firefighters, and volunteers, who had been working day and night amid difficult terrain and recurring rain.
Three backhoes were deployed to speed up the operations.
‘Safety is always our priority for responders on the ground, especially during bad weather,’ Damasco said.
Relatives of the Ubatays were present at the site with their son, Elson, who had volunteered in the digging to find his parents.