Rescuers detect ‘signs of life’ after Philippines garbage avalanche kills 4, leaves dozens missing

Rescuers detected “signs of life” in an avalanche of garbage that killed at least four workers and left more than 30 others missing Thursday at a central Philippines landfill and plan to step up search efforts, an official said Saturday.

Twelve workers were rescued, injured by the huge pile of garbage that collapsed among the low buildings of a waste management facility in Binaliw village in Cebu City, authorities said.

Dozens of rescuers, including police, firefighters and disaster response personnel, raced against time to find other survivors in dangerous conditions among the rubble of twisted tin roofs, iron bars and piles of trash and combustible debris.

“Authorities have confirmed signs of life detected in specific areas, necessitating continued careful searches and deployment of a more advanced 50-ton crane, which is en route under police escort,” Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said in a statement.

“Responder safety remains paramount due to hazards such as unstable debris and acetylene hazards, requiring security perimeter adjustments and controlled access.”

The four dead, including an engineer and an office worker, were all employees of the landfill and waste management center, which employs 110 people, according to the mayor and police.

The initial casualty list Friday included two dead and 36 missing, but that number rose to four dead Saturday, according to Archival, which did not provide an updated number of missing people.

The cause of the trash mountain’s collapse remains unclear, but a survivor told The Associated Press on Friday that it happened in an instant, without any warning, despite the rather mild weather at the time.

Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old office worker at the landfill, said the wall of garbage collapsed and destroyed the administrative office he was in. He escaped, with bruises on his face and arms, crawling in the darkness among the rubble and debris.

“I saw a light and I crawled towards it in a hurry, because I was afraid there would be more landslides,” Antigua said. “It was traumatic. I was afraid it was the end of me, so this is my second life.”

It’s unclear how the accident will affect waste disposal at the landfill in Cebu, a bustling port city of nearly a million people that serves as a regional hub for commerce and tourism.

Preparations “are also underway to manage the looming problem of garbage collection,” Archival said in its statement without providing further details.

These open dumps and dumpsites have long been a source of safety and health problems throughout the Philippines, especially in areas near poor communities where many residents scavenge junk and food scraps from trash piles.

In July 2000, a huge pile of garbage in a slum in the suburbs of Quezon City, part of Metro Manila, collapsed and sparked a fire after days of stormy weather.

The disaster left more than 200 dead and many more missing, damaged dozens of shantytowns and led to a law requiring the closure of illegal dumpsites across the country, as well as improved and more sustainable waste management by authorities.