1 dead, 6 injured after Cebu landfill causes landslide

CEBU, Philippines – One person was killed while six others were injured after a landslide occurred at a landfill in Barangay Binaliw in Cebu City on Thursday, January 8.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak confirmed this in a text message to Rappler Thursday night.

Tumulak, citing initial reports, said a certain Philip Fernandez alerted authorities about the incident through a phone call. Based on the report, multiple people were trapped under rubble after the landslide happened.

At least 20 individuals were trapped and only seven have been extracted, as of this writing.

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said in an official statement on Thursday evening that they have deployed disaster response teams to conduct search and rescue operations and ensure the safety of residents in the area.

“I am closely monitoring the situation ug moadto ko mismo sa Binaliw landfill as soon as possible aron personal nga i-check ang kahimtangan ug i-coordinate ang sunod nga mga aksyon,” the mayor said.

(I am closely monitoring the situation and I will personally go to Binaliw landfill as soon as possible to check the situation and coordinate the next move.)

In a SunStar Cebu report on the same day, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera said that continuous rainfall over time had softened the soil of the landfill, where garbage had continued to accumulate, making the collapse inevitable.

Garganera, in a group message to reporters, said that the landslide had also hit a materials recovery facility managed by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Incorporated, a subsidiary of the Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital Incorporated. – Rappler.com