MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Rescuers found signs of life Thursday in a garbage collapse at a landfill in the central Philippines that killed at least four workers and left more than 30 missing, an official said Saturday and plans to intensify the search.
Twelve injured workers were rescued from a huge pile of garbage that collapsed inside a low-slung building at a waste management facility in Binalife Village, Cebu City, authorities said.
Dozens of rescuers, including police, firefighters and disaster relief workers, raced against the clock to find more dangerous survivors amid the rubble of twisted tin roofs, iron bars and combustible trash and debris.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said in a statement: “Authorities confirmed that signs of life were found in specific areas, requiring continued careful excavation and the deployment of a more advanced 50-ton crane, which is being carried out under police escort.”
“The safety of responders remains critical due to hazards such as unstable debris and acetylene risks, prompting adjustments to security perimeters and controlled access,” Achwal said.
The four dead, including an engineer and a female office worker, were employees of the landfill and waste management facility, which has a total of 110 employees, according to the mayor and police.
A preliminary list of victims on Friday included two dead and 36 missing, with the death toll rising to four on Saturday, according to Archival, who did not provide an updated number of missing people.
The cause of the collapse was unclear, but a survivor told The Associated Press on Friday that the collapse happened without warning, despite reasonably good weather.
Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old office worker at the landfill, said the wall of trash cascading down destroyed his administrative office. He crawled through dark rubble and debris, with bruises on his face and arms, to escape.
“I saw a light and crawled toward it because I was worried there were more landslides,” Antigua said. “It was painful. I was worried that this was the end of me, so this was my second life.”
It is unclear how the accident will affect waste disposal at the Cebu landfill. Cebu is a bustling port city with a population of nearly one million and a regional center for trade, commerce, and tourism.
“Preparations are also underway to address the imminent garbage collection issues,” Achwal said in a statement, without providing further details.
Such landfills and open dumps have long been a source of safety and health concerns across the Philippines, especially in areas close to poor communities where many residents scour the heaps for trash and leftover food.
In July 2000, a huge garbage dump collapsed and caught fire after days of stormy weather in a shanty town on the outskirts of Quezon City in Metro Manila.
The disaster left more than 200 people dead, left many missing, damaged dozens of shacks and prompted a law calling for the closure of illegal dumpsites across the country and for authorities to improve and more sustainable waste management.
