Rescue teams on Sunday recovered the final missing person from the landfill collapse in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, bringing the confirmed death toll to 36 and ending search operations, authorities said.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Region 7 reported that the last body was retrieved shortly before dawn, allowing responders to formally close the search, rescue, and retrieval phase of the operation.
City disaster officials said all fatalities were workers inside the waste facility compound at the time of the collapse, including employees of Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. and several subcontractors.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, who chairs the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said K-9 units flown in from Iloilo played a crucial role in locating the final victim.
Victims came from Cebu City as well as nearby localities, including Lapu-Lapu City and the towns of Consolacion and Balamban, according to the city’s disaster office.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival ordered round-the-clock rescue work following the incident, with rotating teams deployed in short shifts due to hazardous conditions at the landfill site.
With all victims now recovered, authorities said law enforcement agencies and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will proceed with separate investigations, as the DENR has already ordered the landfill’s operations halted.