One dead, dozens missing after Philippine dump site collapse

CEBU CITY

Rescue workers searched on Jan. 9 for dozens of people buried under a mountain of garbage that collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines, killing at least one.

Nearly 50 sanitation workers were buried when the towering pile of refuse toppled onto them at Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City, on Jan. 8.

"There are signs of life," Cebu mayor Nestor Archival told a news briefing, adding that hundreds of rescuers already on site would be joined by "another 500" for search efforts he expected to last through to Jan. 11.

Rescuers were limited in what equipment they could use because any sparks threatened to ignite methane gas emitted by the landfill, he said.

Thirty-four people remain missing, according to Archival, who revised down a tally of 38 given earlier on his Facebook page.

At least 12 employees have been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized.

Jason Morata, a city assistant public information officer, told AFP the trash mountain "must be four stories high."

Aerial photos released by police showed what appeared to be multiple structures crushed under the weight of the garbage.

Morata said the buildings had housed "company offices, HR, admin, maintenance staff" for a private firm that ran the site.

He added that information was emerging in a trickle because there was "no signal" at the dump site.