Rescue operations were underway on Thursday, after a landslide buried shanty houses in a mining area on a southern Philippine island.<br/> The disaster has killed at least 25 people, injured at least 15 others, and left scores missing.<br/> Just before dawn the landslide came crashing down, burying people under loosened soil and boulders.<br/> A local spokesman said the victims were mainly miners and their families.<br/> A disaster management official said the landslide was probably caused by heavy rains that saturated the soil and an earthquake that hit a nearby province hours earlier.<br/> Last year the Philippines banned small-scale mining in the area due to safety hazards.<br/> Travis Brecher, Reuters
