THE 300 miners earlier reported to have been trapped at a mining site in Barangay Macambol, Mati City following five days of intense rains have returned to their homes, officials said.

The Mati City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) clarified that the miners were stranded at the mining camp due to rushing flood waters last January 18.

Mati CDRRMO head Charlemagne Bagasol said the miners were not trapped. He said the workers could not leave camp because of the rising flood waters.

"The miners are not trapped but rather stranded as they cannot pass through their usual route due to the flash flood," Jude Corpuz, a personnel of the Mati CDRRMO, said.

The miners are working with Hallmark Mining.

A relative of one of the workers raised the alarm when he failed to return home. The city was one of several areas inundated by floods spawned by torrential rains.

It was reported that the Philippine Army's 66th Infantry Battalion helped the miners.

Barangay officials also deployed heavy equipment to clear roads.

Meanwhile, Hallmark Mining donated food to 236 families in Barangay Macambol and 102 families in Barangay Cabuaya who were affected by the floods.

Floods affected nearly 500,000 people in Davao Region and neighboring provinces.

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