A towering mound of rubbish collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippine city of Cebu, killing a 22-year-old woman and leaving more than 30 people missing, authorities said, as rescue teams scrambled to find survivors beneath the debris.
At least 12 injured sanitation workers were pulled from the wreckage at the Binaliw landfill and taken to hospital, while fears grew for dozens more believed to have been working at the site when the collapse occurred. Officials warned that rescue efforts were being hampered by unstable ground and the risk of further slides.
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More than 300 responders from government agencies and volunteer groups have been deployed, supported by excavators, ambulances and fire trucks. Cebu Mayor Nestor Archival said teams were proceeding with extreme caution, noting that removing debris from the top could worsen conditions below and endanger anyone still trapped.
Local officials said the cause of the collapse remained under investigation, but pointed to long-standing waste management problems. Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera described the site as an open dumpsite rather than a sanitary landfill, alleging that operators had been cutting into the waste mound and piling garbage into new heaps, weakening its structure.