A garbage avalanche has buried workers at a waste sorting facility in a central Philippine city, killing one person, injuring 7 and trapping at least 27 others, police said.
Rescuers have pulled 8 people alive and are searching for the missing who are still trapped after a huge pile of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliu in Cebu City, CNN reports. Those affected include landfill workers, but it is unclear whether any non-workers were among the victims.
One of the rescued women, a worker at the landfill, died while being transported to a hospital, regional police director Brigadier General Roderick Maranan told The Associated Press, adding that the others survived but were injured.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said at least 12 people were rescued, while 38 others remain missing. The reason for the different numbers of missing and rescued given by the police and Archival is unclear.
“All response teams remain fully engaged in the search and recovery efforts for the remaining missing persons while strictly adhering to safety protocols,“ Archival said in a statement posted on Facebook.
At the depot, dozens of rescuers struggled through the night searching for stranded people.