A heap of garbage collapsed at a privately owned landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, prompting search and rescue operations to find three missing scavengers who were believed to have been buried alive, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) confirmed on Sunday, Feb. 22.

The collapse at the Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill in Sitio 1B, Harangan, Barangay San Isidro occurred last Friday, Feb. 20, and it was only two days later that the incident was reported by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Rodriguez town to the OCD, said civil defense deputy spokesperson Diego Mariano.

Citing information from the MDRRMO Rodriguez, Mariano said the incident was caused by the collapse of a piled-up heap of garbage and not a trash slide.

“The cause is not a trash slide, rather ‘pagbuka ng gabundok na basura’ (collapse of a massive pile of garbage) as MDRRMO Rodriguez described,” he noted.

Based on initial count, at least three persons were reported missing. No other details were provided by the OCD as to the identities of the missing persons aside from the fact that they were scavengers.

“No information yet on the identities,” Mariano said.

Authorities were conducting ongoing validation to verify if there were other casualties. Search and rescue operations were also being carried out to search for the missing persons.

However, Mariano refuted the claims of urban poor group Kadamay that up to 50 people were either dead or missing from the incident.

“Reports of 50 casualties [are] not accurate nor factual,” he said.

Kadamay said the landfill was reportedly operated by the International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist, Inc. (ISWIMS). The company has yet to issue a formal statement regarding the incident as of this writing.

The collapse of the Rizal landfill occurred a month after another dumpsite in Cebu fell apart.

The Binaliw sanitary landfill in Cebu City collapsed, leaving 36 people dead and 18 others injured.