Binaliw, Cebu landfill landslide death toll rises to 8

The death toll from the Binaliw landfill landslide at Cebu City has increased to eight, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said Monday.

Archival said that 28 individuals remain missing.

Meanwhile, 18 people are currently hospitalized following the incident.

“The 72 hours lapsed already but we’re hoping we still have people who are alive so that’s why we continue to be on this rescue operation,” he said in a press briefing.

“We will be deciding this afternoon if we continue the rescue mode or retrieval mode this afternoon,” he added.

The landslide occurred at a waste management facility of Prime Waste Solutions Cebu in Barangay Binaliw Thursday last week.

Archival said families have expressed concern that the rescue operation was going slowly, but he explained that rushing it would endanger both the trapped individuals and the rescuers.

“[T]he building is actually metal building. All the parts are interconnected to each other. Now if we want to bring the structure up, certainly they will be in the middle… so that’s why, according to the command center, we go very slow and very careful,” he said.

“We cannot just simply cut the pieces. Because number one, there is actually gas spewing. If we have the big spark, then it will catch fire. And that will be very disastrous to the people who are trapped and, at the same time, to our rescuers,” he added. —AOL, GMA Integrated News