1 Dead, 34 Missing After 4-Story Mountain of Garbage Collapses at Landfill

One person has died, and dozens more are missing after a landfill collapsed in a village in the Philippines.

On Thursday, Jan. 8, at approximately 4:17 p.m. local time, around 110 employees at the landfill were affected after the incident occurred in the village of Binaliw in Cebu City, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said in a release shared on Facebook.

Cebu City Mayor, Nestor Archival confirmed that a 22-year-old woman had died in the accident, while 38 people remained missing, per a situation report posted on Facebook on the morning of Friday, Jan. 9. In a later update, he said 34 people were still unaccounted for.

Archival added on the social media site that 12 people had been hospitalized so far.

The incident occurred after an avalanche of debris and garbage left workers buried or trapped, the Associated Press reported, citing officials. It’s not yet clear if neighboring residents or others have been affected by the incident.

Regional police director, Brig. Gen. Roderick Maranan, told the news agency that the female victim was a landfill worker who died while being taken to the hospital.

“Search, rescue, and retrieval operations are ongoing, with extensive multi-agency support on the ground,” Archival wrote on Facebook.

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“There are signs of life,” the mayor said during a news briefing, insisting that “another 500” rescuers would join search efforts, which he’s expecting to last until at least Sunday, Jan. 11, according to CBS News and Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Archival added that rescue efforts had been hampered by the fact that any sparks created by digging machinery could ignite methane gas emitted by the landfill, per the outlet.

Jason Morata, a city assistant public information officer, told news agency AFP that the mountain of garbage “must be four stories high,” CBS News reported.

Marge Parcotello — a civilian staff member of the police department in the town of Consolacion, which shares a common boundary with the landfill — said, “We don’t know what caused the collapse. It wasn’t raining at all,” per CBS News.

“Many of the victims are from Consolacion,” she added, according to the outlet.

Jaylord Antigua, 31, who is an office worker at the landfill, said the mountain of trash collapsed quickly without warning, according to the AP. His office was destroyed, but he managed to escape with bruises to his face and arms after crawling underneath the debris and rubble, the news agency added.

“I saw a light and crawled toward it in a hurry because I feared there will be more landslides,” Antigua told the outlet, adding, “It was traumatic. I feared that it was my end, so this is my second life.”

Archival said in his latest Facebook post, “Let’s continue to pray for the safety of all affected and for the strength of our rescuers working tirelessly on the scene.”

PEOPLE has attempted to contact the Cebu City Police Office and Mayor Archival’s office for additional information.