Hopeful: Search operations continue for missing workers at the collapsed waste management facility in Cebu City. — AP
Cebu City has been placed under a state of calamity after the deadly collapse at the Binaliw landfill, which left many dead, injured and missing, while disrupting the city’s waste disposal services.
As of 5pm on Jan 13, the death toll had risen to 13 after rescue teams recovered five more bodies since the day before.
Cebu City councillor David Tumulak, who chairs the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, reported that two bodies were retrieved on Jan 12 and another in the morning of Jan 13.
According to Tumulak, the first victim, a 48-year-old woman, was recovered around 4pm on Jan 12, followed an hour later by a 57-year-old woman.
He said the 11th victim, a 50-year-old woman, was recovered in the morning of Jan 13, while the latest recoveries included a 47-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man.
“All of them have been identified by their families. Our search and retrieval operations are continuing,” Tumulak said.
Tumulak and councillor Joel Garganera, who chairs the committee on environment, pushed for the resolution declaring the state of calamity, which the city council approved on Jan 12.
The declaration allows the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund to be used in support of ongoing search and retrieval operations.
Mayor Nestor Archival Jr said search-and-rescue efforts at Binaliw remain at a “low-intensity” level after equipment from Davao Mining, which is assisting in the operations, detected possible signs of life.
According to the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas, 25 people remain missing and 18 were injured in the landfill collapse that occurred on Jan 8.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government said responders are maintaining a sustained presence and conducting systematic operations to locate the missing. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
