A major environmental tragedy struck the Philippines on Saturday after a wall of the privately operated Binaliw Sanitary Landfill collapsed near the city of Cebu. The failure unleashed a massive slide of mud and garbage that buried offices and work areas where dozens of sanitation workers were on duty.

Authorities confirmed at least one death and 38 missing people, while rescue teams continue to dig relentlessly through tons of waste in a desperate effort to find survivors. In the initial phase of the operation, emergency crews rescued twelve workers alive from beneath the debris.

Cebu Mayor Néstor Archival said search operations would continue as long as there was any hope of finding people alive. “We are racing against time, and we will not stop,” he told local media.

Aerial images released by police showed a towering mound of garbage that suddenly gave way, crushing multiple structures. The buried buildings housed human resources offices, administrative departments, and maintenance facilities operated by the landfill management company.

Jason Morata, Cebu’s deputy public information officer, said authorities are examining several possible causes of the collapse. He noted that the area had been hit by two typhoons in late 2025 and experienced seismic activity, though no official conclusion has been reached.

Other officials stressed that there was no rainfall at the time of the collapse, raising further questions about structural integrity and safety standards. The company managing the landfill has so far declined to comment.

The disaster has reignited concerns in the Philippines about landfill safety and the working conditions of waste management employees, recalling the deadly Manila garbage slide of 2000 that killed more than 200 people.