EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO AS INCOMING<br/> EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> At least 25 people are dead after a landslide left a trail of devastation in Pantukan town in the Philippines.<br/> 16 people were pulled out alive from under the rubble.<br/> Arnel Nicolas managed to crawl out.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (Visayan) SURVIVOR ARNEL NICOLAS SAYING:<br/> "We were asleep when the landslide happened. Rocks and soil were falling, and I rolled down and I was thrown against a large house. And from there I was able to survive."<br/> Around 150 people, mostly miners and their families are still missing.<br/> Last year small-scale mining in the area was banned due to safety reasons.<br/> The mines bureau said the ground had softened due to liquid waste from mining activities. Recent heavy rains loosened the soil further.<br/> Many residents in the area ignored government warnings to move to safer areas, continuing the mining operations which are often illegal and unregulated.<br/> One village leader explained why.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) NAPNAPAN VILLAGE LEADER CELSO LARIWAN SAYING:<br/> "Authorities of the village and the municipality have talked to the villagers. The problem is -- they can't leave because of their jobs, and their property in this location. They refuse to leave."<br/> This is the second landslide in Pantukan town in almost nine months.<br/> It occurred near a mining area on Kingking, on the southern island of Mindanao which is said to be one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits.<br/> With the price of gold soaring, miners are often driven to risky pursuits to get hold of the precious metal.<br/> Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters
