At least 37 persons were reported dead while 63 individuals remained missing due to the landslides that struck Maco town starting Tuesday night, Davao de Oro, an official said Sunday.

Edward Macapili, Davao de Oro executive assistant for communications and public relations, said they have not found any survivors since Saturday.

“We have recovered around 37 dead bodies but there are still 32 injured. The individuals who are allegedly missing went from 110 to 63,” Macapili said in a radio interview.

Searching for survivors and bodies has proven difficult since there are sections where there are sections 30 to 50 meters deep, he said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in its 8 am report that 22 persons have died while two were missing.

Macapili said it was the fifth day of their emergency response operations since the landslide struck on Tuesday night.

“The whole Davao de Oro, or the whole Mindanao is experiencing the trough (of the low pressure area). Yesterday it was too hot, but today the weather is different. The sky is gloomy and it is raining,'' he said.

''There have been scattered rainshowers since last night until early morning today but it has already stopped. In spite of that, the search, rescue, and retrieval operations are ongoing,” Macapili said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS