28 recovered after landfill collapse near Cebu City; eight remain missing

Rescuers in Cebu City have recovered 28 bodies from a garbage mound that collapsed on Jan. 9 at a private landfill in Binaliw, a mountainous area outside the city, the police said on Friday. Search and recovery operations continue for eight people still reported missing. Dozens of people were buried when the landslide of trash occurred.

Lt. Col. Jose Los Baños of the Cebu City police said 18 people had been rescued, some taken to hospitals with injuries described as not critical. The collapse destroyed a facility belonging to Prime Waste Solutions Cebu; the police said around 50 employees were in the facility at the time.

Mayor Nestor Archival identified one of the dead as an electrical engineer, John Paul Apilan, and said other victims have not been identified by authorities. The city has deployed about 300 people and two large cranes to the rescue and recovery effort, and Mr. Archival said operations have progressed slowly because rescuers had to dismantle a metal structure to proceed safely.

Investigators have interviewed survivors and relatives of the missing, and no criminal charges have been filed against Prime Waste Solutions Cebu. Prime Waste Solutions suspended operations at the Binaliw landfill after the collapse. Mr.

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World, Prime Waste Solutions, Binaliw, Cebu City, Landfill Collapse, Sinulog Festival