Residents hold onto a rope while crossing a highway flooded by rains brought on by Typhoon Parma, in Rosales Pangasinan, north of Manila October 9, 2009.At least 32 bodies have been retrieved and more were feared to have been buried alive as back-to-back storms triggered massive landslides in northern Philippines, local media reported Friday.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MANILA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least 32 bodies have been retrieved and more were feared to have been buried alive as back-to-back storms triggered massive landslides in northern Philippines, local media reported Friday.

    Local television channel ANC reported that 32 bodies were recovered in the mountainous Benguet province, which is suffering continuous rains brought by the tropical depression Parma.

    The government's disasters relief agency on Friday morning reported that at least 25 people were confirmed dead across the northern and central Luzon, with 39 others still missing.

A helicopter hovers as they rescue trapped people on a tree in Carmen, Pangasinan, northern Philippines in this photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard on October 9, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres at the National Disaster Coordinating Council said the government has no official report indicating the missing were already dead.

    "But if we sum it up, this will be over 50," Torres said.

    Parma, initially a typhoon, stalled in northern Philippines for days as high air pressure over the South China Sea prevented it from moving further west. Parts of the coastal Pangasinan province were reported to be submerged in floodwaters.

    The Philippines is still reeling from the devastation of tropical storm Ketsana, which poured epic rainfall to the national capital region and surrounding areas, leaving 300 people dead and nearly 40 others missing. 

Residents hold onto a rope while crossing a flooded highway brought on by typhoon Parma in Rosales Pangasinan north of Manila October 9, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>