It took 10 days. At 5:41 a.m. on January 18, rescuers found the last missing person at the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City, and the city government called off the search.
“Today, the search-and-rescue operation at the Binaliw landfill has been officially terminated,” said Councillor David Tumulak, who chairs the city’s disaster risk reduction and management committee. The final victim had not yet been identified.
The death toll stands at 36. Eighteen people were injured, and four of them are still in hospital. Six of the bodies recovered have not been identified, Tumulak said.
A large section of the dump in Barangay Binaliw gave way shortly before 5 p.m. on January 8. Workers were buried under tonnes of garbage, steel and the machinery used at the site. Garbage collection was disrupted afterward.
Mayor Nestor Archival said an investigation into the cause of the collapse would start immediately. “Everything is finished and all the missing persons have been recovered,” he said.
The landfill is run by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions and takes waste from Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
