25/06/2025
Rescuer losses life in tunnel retrieval effort in Nueva Vizcaya
A VOLUNTEER rescuer, John Philip Guinihid, tragically lost his life after being pulled out of a tunnel in Sitio (sub-village) Balcony, Barangay (village) Runruno, Quezon, at 2:45 pm today (June 25, 2025).
Guinihid and another volunteer, J***y Ayudan, had entered the tunnel at 3:00 am to rescue Ayudan's brother, Lipihon Ayudan, one of the five small-scale miners who failed to make their way out on Monday night, June 23, 2025.
According to Pastor Mario dela Cruz of the Philippine Bethel Church, Inc., a fellow volunteer rescuer, the small-scale miners likely succumbed to oxygen deprivation, which caused dizziness and loss of consciousness inside the tunnel.
Ayudan (J***y) was also rescued alive from the tunnel at 3:30 pm after the retrieval of Guinihid’s body.
However, Ayudan (Lipihon), Daniel Segundo and Florencio Indopia, who entered the tunnel on Monday night, are still inside the tunnel. They are believed to have been suffocated.
Earlier, Alfred Dulnuan and Joval Bantiyan, who were among the five small-scale miners who entered the tunnel on Monday night were rescued alive through the swift rescue and retrieval operations on Tuesday.
Joining the rescue operations were the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, FCF Minerals Corp., Barangay Local Government Unit, Municipal Local Government Unit, and volunteer groups. (LCD)
