MANILA – In a tragic incident that has claimed the lives of at least four workers, rescuers have picked up signs of life amidst a massive garbage avalanche at a central Philippines landfill. More than 30 individuals are still unaccounted for following the disaster on Thursday, an official reported on Saturday, as efforts to locate survivors intensify.

Authorities have confirmed that twelve workers have been pulled from the debris, suffering from various injuries. The collapse took place at a waste management facility in Binaliw, a village in Cebu City, where a towering pile of garbage came crashing down onto the surrounding low-rise structures.

Teams of rescuers, including police officers, firefighters, and disaster-response units, are working tirelessly under precarious conditions. They navigate through a perilous landscape of mangled tin roofs, twisted metal bars, and volatile garbage heaps, determined to find more survivors.

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival announced that signs of life have been detected in certain areas, prompting the dispatch of an advanced 50-ton crane to assist in the delicate excavation process. The crane, escorted by police, is expected to bolster the ongoing rescue operations.

“The safety of our responders is our top priority,” Mayor Archival emphasized, highlighting the dangers posed by unstable debris and the potential for acetylene-related risks. As a result, adjustments have been made to the security perimeter to ensure controlled access to the site.

The four dead, including an engineer and a female office worker, were all employees of the landfill and waste management facility with a staff of 110, according to the mayor and police.

The initial list of victims on Friday included two dead and 36 missing, which increased Saturday to four dead, according to Archival, who did not provide an updated nunber of people missing.

The cause of the collapse of the mountain of garbage remains unclear, but a survivor told The Associated Press on Friday that it happened in an instant without any warning despite fairly good weather at the time.

Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old office worker at the landfill, said the wall of garbage cascaded down and destroyed the administrative office he was in. He extricated himself with bruises on his face and arms by crawling in darkness in the rubble and debris.

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

It is unclear how the accident would affect garbage disposal in the landfill in Cebu, a bustling port city of nearly a million people that serves as a regional hub for trade, commerce and tourism.

Preparations “are also underway to manage the looming garbage collection issue,” Archival said in his statement without further details.

Such landfills and open dumpsites have long been a source of safety and health concerns throughout the Philippines, especially in areas close to poor communities where many residents scavenge for junk and leftover food in the garbage heaps.

In July 2000, a huge garbage mound in a shantytown in suburban Quezon City, part of metropolitan Manila, collapsed and ignited a fire after days of stormy weather.

The disaster left more than 200 people dead and many more missing, damaged scores of shanties and prompted a law requiring the closure of illegal dump sites nationwide, as well as improved and more sustainable waste management by authorities.