Death toll from Uganda landslides rises to 20: Red Cross

The death toll from landslides that hit several villages in eastern Uganda rose to 20, with more than 100 still unaccounted for, the Red Cross said Friday.

The Red Cross said the toll had risen "following the retrieval of 19 bodies and the unfortunate passing of one survivor at the hospital," without giving an estimate on how many people were missing. Authorities had Thursday put the death toll at  15 with 113 listed as missing.

An official from the affected Bulambuli district told AFP the toll was expected to rise.

"The number of disappeared has surpassed one hundred and it would be a miracle if some of them were still alive," said the official, Faheera Mpalanyi.

Mpalanyi noted it had been difficult for rescue equipment to access sites affected after several bridges had been swept away.

The Red Cross stated that 125 homes had been destroyed by the landslides which followed torrential rain in at least five villages in Bulambuli, a district some 300 kilometres (180 miles), or five hours by road, east of the capital Kampala near the Kenyan border.

The landslides have also forced some 750 people to leave their homes.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja visited the affected area Friday.

Nabbanja's office had Wednesday issued an alert saying that the rains had led to "situations of catastrophe in several regions."

In the country's northwest, the River Tangi, a tributary of the White Nile, burst its banks, cutting a key road leading to South Sudan.

One member of an emergency response team died Wednesday after a boat coming to rescue a collective taxi capsized, an army spokesman said.

Having entered the rainy season in early November, Uganda has experienced heavy downpours over a three-day period, damaging transport infrastructure.