Search and retrieval operations continue for missing workers at the collapsed waste management facility in Binaliw, Cebu City, central Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. -- AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez
MANILA (dpa): The death toll from a landslide of rubbish in a central Philippine city has risen to eight, with 28 still missing, local officials said on Monday.
Emergency workers were using a crane to dig through the rubble of garbage that flattened a recycling facility and partially buried some houses in Cebu City, about 560 kilometres south of Manila, on Thursday.
"We are still in rescue mode. We are still hoping that we still have people who are alive,” Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival told reporters.
Archival said a group of volunteers from a mining company had equipment to detect signs of life, and as of Sunday, "they were saying that there are signs of life.”
The mayor, however, noted that local officials were going to decide if the emergency work would shift to retrieval operations.
The landfill landslide occurred after days of rain softened the soil at the dumpsite, officials said.
Eighteen people were hospitalized for various injuries, Archival said.
Social media footage showed the recycling facility’s roof and metal frame crushed and flattened. People and children were heard screaming and crying after the landslide, which left a cloud of dust covering the area.
Most of the victims were employees of the landfill and recycling facility, which was also surrounded by shanty houses, some of which were partially buried.
