THE Cebu City government has formally ended search and rescue operations at the Binaliw landfill, 10 PRIME INTdays after a massive collapse at the site.
City officials confirmed that the final missing individual was recovered at around 5:41 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18. The remains have yet to be identified.
“Search and rescue operations at the Binaliw landfill are now officially terminated,” said City Councilor David Tumulak, chair of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
The incident has claimed 36 lives and left 18 others injured. Four of the injured remain hospitalized and are still recovering. Authorities said six of the recovered bodies have not yet been identified.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said an investigation into the cause of the landfill collapse will begin immediately now that all missing persons have been accounted for.
“All the missing have been recovered. We will now proceed with the investigation,” Archival said.
A large portion of the landfill in Barangay Binaliw gave way shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, burying workers under tons of garbage, steel materials, and heavy equipment used at the facility. The collapse disrupted garbage collection services in the days that followed.
The Binaliw landfill is operated by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWS) and serves Cebu City as well as the neighboring cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
