For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
A 22-year-old woman has been killed and at least 38 people remain missing after a large mound of waste collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines, according to authorities.
The incident occurred on Thursday at the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City, where rescue teams have so far pulled 12 injured sanitation workers from the debris. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Officials believe many of those trapped are workers who were present at the site when the rubbish heap gave way.
The exact cause of the collapse has not yet been determined, according to a report published by the BBC.
Around 300 personnel from government agencies and civilian volunteer groups have been deployed to the privately operated landfill to assist in search and rescue efforts.
Excavators, ambulances and fire trucks are being used at the scene.
“All response teams remain fully engaged in search and retrieval efforts to locate the remaining missing persons,” Cebu Mayor Nestor Archival said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera said the collapse was likely linked to poor waste management practices at the site, even if it appeared to have happened suddenly.
He told local newspaper The Freeman that operators had been cutting into the waste mound to extract soil before piling garbage again to create another heap.
“It’s not a sanitary landfill. It has effectively turned into an open dumpsite,” Garganera said.
Landfills remain a common waste disposal method in major Philippine cities, including Cebu, a key trading hub and transport gateway for the Visayas region in the central Philippines.
The Binaliw landfill covers an area of about 10 hectares.