The tragedy at the Philippines’ Binaliw landfill has claimed at least four lives and 34 people remain missing, according to authorities. Rescuers continue their difficult search work despite the threat of further landslides.
Rescuers, assisted by loaders, continue to search through waste at the Binaliw dump in the Philippines on Saturday. After Thursday’s landslide, at least four victims and 34 missing persons are known so far. TASR writes about it according to AFP.
So far, at least 12 people have been pulled out of the garbage alive and hospitalized with various injuries. Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera said that as of 10:00 a.m. (03:00 a.m. CET), the death toll has risen to four and 34 people are missing. According to him, a pile of waste as high as a 20-story building collapsed at a private landfill.
Risk of further landslides
Information from the disaster site emerges only slowly, and rescuers still face the danger of further landslides. “Rescue operations are still ongoing. But every now and then the dump moves, which temporarily stops the work,” said rescue worker Jo Reyes. “We have to stop work for a while for the safety of our rescuers,” she added.
“We can’t just rush to pick up the bodies because there are a lot of family members in the facility waiting for some positive result,” Garganera said. The landslide also buried the homes of the landfill workers.
Regular landslides
“From time to time when it rains, there are landslides around Cebu City. How much more dangerous is that for a landfill or a mountain of garbage?” Garganera said in a phone call to AFP.
“Garbage is like a sponge, it absorbs water. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to tell that this will eventually happen,” he added.
According to him, the drivers of garbage trucks have been complaining for a long time about the danger associated with driving on the steep road to the top of the landfill.
Landfill operation
The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste per day,” according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions. The company has not yet responded to phone calls and e-mails about the accident.
