Cebu City ends Binaliw landfill search after 10 days, death toll now at 36

Cebu City — The Cebu City government has ended the search and rescue operations at the Binaliw landfill after 10 days since the dumpsite collapsed.

This came after the last missing person was found past 5 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18.

“Today, the search and rescue operation at the Binaliw landfill has been officially terminated,” said Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak, chairman of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.

Tumulak said the last person was recovered at 5:41 a.m. and the fatality has yet to be identified.

With this new development, the death toll from the Binaliw incident has reached 36, while 18 were injured.

Of the injured, four remain confined and are still recuperating in the hospital.

“Out of the recovered bodies, six have yet to be identified,” Tumulak said.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said there will definitely be an investigation into why the landfill collapsed.

“(Now), everything is finished and all the missing persons have been recovered. The investigation will immediately begin,” announced Archival.

A large section of the landfill in Barangay Binaliw collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, trapping workers beneath tons of garbage, steels and machines used in the facility.

Following the incident, garbage collection services were disrupted.

The landfill, operated by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWS), caters to Cebu City and the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue. /apl