Race against time in the Philippines after the avalanche of garbage: rescuers detected signs of life
Filipino rescuers have detected signs of life as they search for missing people after an avalanche of garbage killed four workers at a landfill in the central Philippines.
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A huge mountain of garbage collapsed at a waste sorting station in the Philippines PHOTO Profimedia
Authorities said 12 injured workers were pulled from the rubble after a huge pile of garbage collapsed at a waste management facility in Binaliw Village, Cebu City on Thursday, January 8. Rescue efforts will now be expanded, writes Sky News.
Dozens of rescuers, police, firefighters and disaster response teams worked in dangerous conditions, searching the rubble for dozens of missing people.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said the detected signs of life have been confirmed “in specific areas, which requires continued excavation with great care.”
A more efficient 50-ton crane is to be brought to the site, the mayor said.
Safety of rescue teams “remains priority”, he emphasized, referring to the dangers generated by “unstable residues and risks related to acetylene”which required the adjustment of the security perimeter and controlled access.
Among the four deceased are an engineer and an office worker. All those who died were employees of the landfill and waste management facility, which had a total of 110 employees, according to the mayor and police.
Authorities initially reported two deaths and 36 missing, but on Saturday Mayor Archival revised the death toll to four, without providing an updated number of missing.
The cause of the collapse of the garbage mountain is not clear. The Associated Press, citing a survivor, reported that it all happened instantly, without warning, despite the relatively good weather at the time.
Local publication Philstar pointed to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Tino and an earthquake last year that reportedly left the ground unstable.
Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old warehouse worker, escaped with bruises after the administration building he was in was destroyed by the avalanche of debris, managing to crawl through the rubble to a light, convinced he was risking his life.
The mayor warned that Cebu City is facing problems in collecting waste as landfills in the Philippines remain a major safety risk, recalling the tragedy in 2000 when more than 200 people died after a mountain of garbage collapsed near Manila.
