Cebu landfill collapse death toll climbs to 6

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January 12, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines, Philippines — The number of fatalities in the collapse of a mountain of garbage in Cebu City has increased to six after two more bodies were retrieved under the rubble yesterday morning.

As of 7:30 a.m. yesterday,  city disaster officials reported that two more bodies of women, aged 43 and 39, were pulled from the rubble of the landslide, which occurred in Barangay Binaliw on Thursday afternoon.

Data from the city’s Bureau of Fire Protection showed that 31 people remained missing while 12 others were confined in hospitals.

The first fatality was found a few hours after the incident, while the second and third fatalities were retrieved on Friday afternoon.

The fourth fatality was retrieved on Saturday.

Search and retrieval operations continued yesterday after rescuers said on Saturday that they detected signs of life in specific areas of the rubble.

Members of the search and rescue operations composed of firefighters, police officers, military men and personnel of the city’s disaster risk reduction and management council raced against time to find more survivors under piles of twisted tin roofs and iron beams as well as garbage.

Heavy rainfall hampered the search and retrieval operation on Saturday, which continued through the night.

A 50-ton crane was deployed to lift heavy objects such as iron and concrete beams from a materials recovery facility and staff houses, which were toppled by the cascading garbage.

The city government said it has found a solution to the looming garbage problem caused by the suspension of the operation of the Binaliw landfill.

Local officials said they have identified several alternative dumping sites, including one in nearby Consolacion town, for garbage collected from households and industrial firms. — The Freeman