Typhoon toll climbs in Philippines

Philippine rescuers yesterday used hand tools in a desperate search for around 20 people buried in a landslide unleashed by Typhoon Yutu, as the powerful storm's toll rose to nine.

When Yutu struck on Tuesday, torrential rains sparked floods that washed away bridges and fierce gusts razed hundreds of flimsy homes in the nation's north.

Crews were struggling to sift through the wall of mud that smashed into a public works compound where labourers and locals had taken refuge in the Cordillera mountain community of Natonin.

"They (searchers) are digging manually but they still cannot penetrate (with heavy equipment)," provincial disaster official Edward Chumawar told AFP. "The clearing operations for road access there are ongoing."