The confirmed death toll reached 248 with nearly 300 reported missing on later Saturday after super typhoon Durian hit the Philippines, said the country's disaster agencies, who urged the government to ask for help from the international community.

Most of the fatalities took place near Mayon volcano in Albay Province, where rescuers were trying to shovel away debris to recover bodies from Thursday's mudslides that swept down on at least eight villages along the southeast slope.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said 129 bodies were recovered in Guinobatan town alone, with 60 bodies in Daraga town, 38 in Sto. Domingo, 20 in Legazpi City and one in Tabaco City, according to a report by radio dzBB.

Houses and shelters along the Yawa River in Legazpi City, the capital of worst-hit Albay Province, were buried deep under mud with only roofs protruding, the radio said, adding that highway transportation, communication and electric power were still not available for local people and rescuers.

Earlier Saturday, the NDCC reported 208 people were killed and 261 were missing. Another 82 were injured.

Officials feared that the death toll would climb as more bodies were dug up, while some of the remains were too fragmented to count.

The ash and boulders had been building high on the slopes of the 2,461-meter Mayon. Volcano experts warned that typhoons' blasts of wind and drenching rain would rake it all down.

However, local farming residents who rely on fertile soil near Mayon have not heeded the warning, since the volcano stopped its latest mild eruption three month ago. The tragedy did happen on Thursday.

Mass burials started on Saturday at Legazpi and nearby towns, as health authorities raised concerns over possible epidemics. Albay governor Fernando Gonzales said the on-site operations have shifted to digging out dead bodies.

Dozens of other deaths were reported elsewhere in the Bicol region, which includes the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Quezon and Oriental Mindoro. Those typhoon victims were killed by collapsed buildings or flash flood, the NDCC said.

In the calamity regions of Bicol and Southern Tagalog, the NDCC said, an estimated 90,000 families or more than 450,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

After President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held a disaster-control meeting on later Friday, the Philippine Air Force and Coast Guard sent a C-130 carrier, several helicopters and one medical vessel respectively to the most-affected areas, in order to conduct 24- hour rescue and relief operations.

Meanwhile, Albay governor Gonzales told reporters that clean water, food and health care services are badly needed in his province.

Philippine National Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon urged President Arroyo to appeal for international aid, as the Public Works Department estimated damage to infrastructure in the Bicol region alone at one billion pesos (20 million U.S. dollars).

Durian, which left the Philippines heading for South China Sea on Saturday, is the third super typhoon to hit the Philippines in two months. Two previous super typhoons, Xangsane and Cimaron, hit Metro Manila and northern Luzon in late September and October respectively, killing at least 200.

Source: Xinhua