CEBU CITY, Philippines — Rescue workers are racing against time to locate dozens of people still missing after a landslide at a privately owned landfill in central Philippines earlier this week, local officials said Saturday.

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said signs of life had been detected at the Binaliw landfill site, two days after it collapsed while more than 100 workers were present.

Four people have been confirmed dead, while 12 others were injured and taken to hospital, Archival said. More than 30 workers are still believed to be missing.

Authorities said the landfill collapsed on Thursday as 110 workers were on site. Rescue operations have been hampered by unstable debris, difficult terrain and limited heavy equipment, with teams awaiting the arrival of a 50-ton crane to continue excavation safely.

“Authorities confirmed the presence of detected signs of life in specific areas, requiring continued careful excavation and the deployment of a more advanced 50-ton crane,” Archival said in a Facebook post.

Cebu City councillor Dave Tumulak, chair of the city’s disaster council, said rescue teams were operating around the clock despite the dangers. “We are just hoping that we can get someone alive. We are racing against time, that’s why our deployment is 24/7,” he told AFP.

Relatives of the missing workers have gathered near the site, anxiously awaiting updates. Jerahmey Espinoza, whose husband remains unaccounted for, told Reuters she was still holding on to hope. “They haven’t seen him or located him ever since the disaster happened. We’re still hopeful that he’s alive,” she said.

The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined. However, Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera previously suggested poor waste management practices may have played a role, saying operators had been cutting into the landfill’s waste mound and piling garbage to form new layers.

The Binaliw landfill spans about 15 hectares and serves Cebu City, a major trading and transport hub in the central Visayas region.

Landfills remain a common waste disposal method across major Philippine cities, often operating under challenging environmental and safety conditions. — Agencies