Death toll climbs after trash site collapse buries dozens in Philippines

Death toll climbs after trash site collapse buries dozens in Philippines Estelle.Bronkhorst Sat, 01/10/2026 - 07:58 MANILA - Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors on Saturday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the central Philippines, killing at least four.About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storeys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday. Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation, she said. We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers. Information from the disaster site has been emerging slowly, with city employees citing the lack of signal from the dumpsite, which serviced Cebu and other surrounding communities.Joel Garganera, a Cebu City council member, told AFP that as of 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the death toll from the disaster had climbed to four, with 34 still missing. The four casualties were inside the facility when it happened… They have these staff houses inside where most people who were buried stayed, he said. It s very difficult on the part of the rescuers, because there are really heavy (pieces of steel), and every now and then, the garbage is moving because of the weight from above, Garganera said. We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles, he said when asked about the timeline for rescue efforts. We cannot just jump to the retrieval (of bodies), because there are a lot of family members who are within the property waiting for any positive result. At least 12 employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalised.

Read on the original site