Mountain of garbage collapses at Philippine landfill, killing one person and burying dozens

Rescuers were searching Friday 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 people were buried when the huge pile of garbage fell on them Thursday at the Binaliw landfill, a private facility in Cebu City, authorities said.

They included landfill workers, but it was unclear if there were neighboring residents or other people, The News reported.

“There are signs of life,” Cebu Mayor Nestor Archival said at a news conference, adding that the hundreds of rescuers already on the scene would be joined by “another 500” for search efforts that he hoped would last at least until Sunday.

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

According to Archival, 34 people remain missing, revising downwards a count of 38 previously posted on its Facebook page.

At least 12 employees were rescued alive from the trash and hospitalized.

Jason Morata, the city’s public information assistant, told News that the mountain of trash “must be four stories high.”

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

Morata said the buildings had housed “company offices, human resources, administrative and maintenance staff” for the private company that manages the site.

“We are considering several factors. If you remember, Cebu was affected by two typhoons in the latter part of 2025 …and also an earthquake,” he said.

Morata added that the information is coming out in dribs and drabs because at the landfill “there is no signal.”

The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily, according to operator Prime Integrated Waste Solutions’ website. It has 110 employees, the AP states.

Calls to the company went unanswered Friday.

“We don’t know what caused the collapse. It wasn’t raining at all,” said Marge Parcotello, a civilian staffer with the police department in Consolación, a city that shares a common boundary with the landfill.

“Many of the victims are from Consolación,” he said.

Safety and health concerns have long surrounded landfills in many Philippine cities and towns, especially those near poor communities whose residents scavenge through garbage piles for junk food and leftovers, AP notes.

More than 200 people died in July 2000 when a garbage avalanche consumed a poor Manila neighborhood populated by several thousand garbage collectors.

That tragedy, the worst of its kind in Philippine history, sparked public outrage over open landfills. Months later, legislation was approved to improve the regulation of waste management.