The Bantargebang landfill processes most daily household waste in Jakarta

This aerial picture shows a rescue team using heavy machinery to search for people following a landslide at Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, on March 9, 2026

Rescue teams at Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, on March 9, 2026.Credit : BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty

 

At least five people have died following a trash collapse at the largest landfill near Jakarta on Sunday night, according to reports.

At the time, more than 300 search-and-rescue personnel have been deployed at Bantargebang Integrated Waste Treatment Facility in Bekasi, a city just outside Indonesia’s capital city, according to the Associated Press.

Desiana Kartika Bahari, the head of Jakarta’s Search and Rescue Office, told the AP that the victims included two garbage truck drivers and two food stall sellers who had been working near the landfill. No other victims have been identified at this time, but it is possible that more will be discovered as the search continues.

Four people survived the collapse, and at least another three are still missing.

“We are still gathering data to confirm how many vehicles and workers were caught beneath the debris,” Bahari said.

The avalanche followed heavy rains in the region over the weekend, according to Reuters.

Yet, according to the AP, Bantargebang had previously been described as “overwhelmed,” as the landfill processes most daily household waste in Jakarta — anywhere from 6,500 tons to 14,000 tons of garbage per ​day, according to reports.

“This incident must truly serve as a bitter lesson for us so that Jakarta can promptly make improvements,” the AFP reported Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq told local news outlets, decrying the continued operation of Bantargebang despite a 2008 ban on open landfills.