Deaths in rubbish-site collapse rise in Philippines

Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors yesterday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the Philippines, killing at least four.

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About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storeys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.

Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP yesterday. "Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. [But] from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation," she said. "We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers."