Mound of garbage collapses at Philippine landfill, killing 2 and leaving 36 others missing

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An avalanche of garbage and debris buried or trapped workers in low-slung buildings at a landfill in the Philippines, killing two people, injuring a dozen and leaving 36 others missing, officials said Friday.

Thirteen people were rescued alive overnight, but one of them later died, authorities said. A second body was discovered later.

Rescue teams were searching for three dozen people still trapped after the mountain of garbage, earth and debris collapsed on them Thursday afternoon in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, officials and police said. The dead and missing were all workers in the landfill and waste management facility, officials said.

One of those rescued, a female landfill worker, died while being brought to a hospital, regional police director Brig. Gen. Roderick Maranan told The Associated Press. The rest survived with injuries and were hospitalized, Maranan said.

The body of a 25-year-old engineer, who worked in the facility, was recovered Friday afternoon, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said in a statement.

Jaylord Antigua, a 31-year-old office worker in the landfill, said that the collapse of the mountain of garbage unfolded rapidly without warning and in good weather. It destroyed his office, where he managed to extricate himself with bruises on his face and arms by crawling under the rubble and debris.

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

Search and rescue efforts would proceed indefinitely at the facility, which has 110 employees, Archival and the Office of Civil Defense said.

“All response teams remain fully engaged in search and retrieval efforts to locate the remaining missing persons with strict adherence to safety protocols,” Archival said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“The city government assures the public and the families of those affected that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure safety, transparency, accountability and compassionate assistance as operations continue,” Archival said.

Pictures released by authorities showed rescuers with earthmoving equipment scouring a building devastated in the garbage avalanche, with its twisted tin roofs and iron beams.

Relatives waited in anguish as the search and rescue proceeded. A woman wept openly and asked the rescuers to speed up the search.

One of the buildings hit by the wall of garbage that cascaded down in the landfill was a warehouse where workers separated recyclable waste and rubbish, Maranan said.

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

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

The disaster left more than 200 people dead and many more missing, damaged scores of shanties and prompted the enactment of a law, which required the closure of illegal dumpsites and better waste management by authorities.

Haruka Nuga contributed to this report from Bangkok.

Rescuers retrieve a body inside a collapsed waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city, central Philippines on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view of a huge mound of garbage that collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

Relatives and others wait for updates after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

Relatives and others wait for updates after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

Search and rescue operation continues after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

Relatives and others wait for updates after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view after a huge mound of garbage collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view of a huge mound of garbage that collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

An aerial view of a huge mound of garbage that collapsed at a waste segregation facility in Binaliw, Cebu city on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court on Thursday issued a ruling that effectively removed the head of the country’s main opposition party by annulling a 2023 congress that elected him.

The move deals a serious blow to the beleaguered Republican People’s Party, or CHP, as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

An appeals court in Turkey’s capital Ankara declared the CHP congress that picked Ozgur Ozel as chairman to be null, ordering that he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The ruling led to frantic meetings at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, further threatening the opposition’s chances of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. Large crowds gathered outside the office block and police erected barriers.

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

The appeals court's decision suspends Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

In comments to broadcaster TV100, Kilicdaroglu called for party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said. The 77-year-old was removed following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections.

Ozel, meanwhile, attempted to rally supporters.

“I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden,” he posted on X following the ruling. “I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The CHP is expected to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP in his former role as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, described the court’s ruling as one that “reinforces our citizens’ trust in democracy.”

Many observers have said that the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government, however, insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a serious blow in 2019 when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure that many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

FILE - Republican People's Party or (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel gestures to party members during his speech during a CHP convention, in Ankara, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)

FILE - Turkish CHP party leader and Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, center, joins legislators elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as they attend their first parliamentary session, in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)