UPDATE: Mining really is a risky job. A day after two miners died in Tuba, two more miners suffocated to death inside a private mine in Mankayan. Here’s the report from GMANews.tv:

Two more miners in Benguet died after being trapped inside a private mining site last Tuesday afternoon, police said Thursday.

Initial reports disclosed by Superintendent Arni Dean Emock, information chief of the Cordillera Region police, revealed that the victims were trapped at a mining site at Sitio Gueday, Barangay Taneg in Mankayan town due to water erosion.

The incident, which happened about 3 p.m., occurred a day after two tunnel workers suffocated to death in Tuba town of said province.

Emock identified the victims in Tuesday’s incident as Ambrosio Calado, 46, a resident in said area; and Denver Caligyo, 21, of Barangay Kayan in Tadian, Mt. Province.

Their bodies were retrieved by local residents later in the day, said Emock.

From GMANews.tv:
Two tunnel workers in Benguet province died after getting suffocated Monday while attempting to fix a water source underground, police said Tuesday.

Superintendent Arni Dean Emock, spokesman of the Cordillera Region police, identified the victims as Engineer Arnold Yapyapan, 49; and Jay-Ar Apanan, 25; both employed at a small-scale mining firm owned by a certain Mateo Daping.

Initial investigation showed that the two entered the water source tunnel at the Millsite, Camp 6 in Tuba town about 9 a.m. together with a certain Rufino Basngi to fix the water pipes.

Upon reaching inside, Yapyapan and Apanan allegedly collapsed due to lack of oxygen. Rufino fortunately managed to craw out of the tunnel and survived. He immediately reported the incident to police about 12:30 pm.

Emock said the bodies of the two were recovered by a rescue team from the Philex Mining Corporation during retrieval operations at 4:45 pm.

Yapyapan is a resident of Bauko, Mt. Province, while Apanan is from Baler, Aurora.

From ABS-CBN:
Two people, including a mining engineer, died after running out of air while inside a tunnel in Tuba municipality in Benguet province, DZMM reported Tuesday.

Police identified the engineer as Arnold Galicgic Yapyapan, 49, a resident of La Trinidad, Benguet. The other fatality was named JR Sakew Apanan, 25, of Camp 6, Tuba town. The engineer’s second companion, Rufino Basngi, was able to crawl out of the tunnel of a mining site at Camp 6 in Tuba town and report the incident to authorities.

It was not clear if the deaths were caused by a tunnel collapse at the mining site.

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Our condolences to the families of the two miners. This is not directly related to this tragic news but you might want to check out Bugan’s posts about small-scale mining: Joan’s Destiny and Small-Scale Mining in Itogon.