Mound of garbage collapses at Philippine landfill, killing 2 and leaving 36 others missing

MANILA, Philippines — An avalanche of garbage and debris buried or trapped workers in low-slung buildings at a landfill in the Philippines, killing two people, injuring a dozen and leaving 36 others missing, officials said Friday.

Thirteen people were rescued alive overnight, but one of them later died, authorities said. A second body was discovered later.

Rescue teams were searching for three dozen people still trapped after the mountain of garbage, earth and debris collapsed on them Thursday afternoon in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, officials and police said. The dead and missing were all workers in the landfill and waste management facility, officials said.

One of those rescued, a female landfill worker, died while being brought to a hospital, regional police director Brig. Gen. Roderick Maranan told The Associated Press. The rest survived with injuries and were hospitalized, Maranan said.

The body of a 25-year-old engineer, who worked in the facility, was recovered Friday afternoon, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said in a statement.

Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old office worker in the landfill, said that the collapse of the mountain of garbage unfolded rapidly without warning and in good weather. It destroyed his office, where he managed to extricate himself with bruises on his face and arms by crawling under the rubble and debris.

“I saw a light and crawled toward it in a hurry, because I feared there will be more landslides,” Antigua told the AP. “It was traumatic. I feared that it was my end, so this is my second life.”

Search and rescue efforts would proceed indefinitely at the facility, which has 110 employees, Archival and the Office of Civil Defense said.

“All response teams remain fully engaged in search and retrieval efforts to locate the remaining missing persons with strict adherence to safety protocols,” Archival said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“The city government assures the public and the families of those affected that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure safety, transparency, accountability and compassionate assistance as operations continue,” Archival said.

Pictures released by authorities showed rescuers with earthmoving equipment scouring a building devastated in the garbage avalanche, with its twisted tin roofs and iron beams.

Relatives waited in anguish as the search and rescue proceeded. A woman wept openly and asked the rescuers to speed up the search.

One of the buildings hit by the wall of garbage that cascaded down in the landfill was a warehouse where workers separated recyclable waste and rubbish, Maranan said.

Such landfills and open dumpsites have long been a source of safety and health concerns in many cities and towns in the Philippines, especially in areas close to poor communities, where residents scavenge for junk and leftover food in the garbage heaps.

In July 2000, a huge mound of garbage at a dumpsite in a shantytown in suburban Quezon City in metropolitan Manila collapsed after days of stormy weather and the avalanche also ignited a fire.

The disaster left more than 200 people dead and many more missing, damaged scores of shanties and prompted the enactment of a law, which required the closure of illegal dumpsites and better waste management by authorities.