39 missing as death toll from Uganda garbage landslide rises to 26
Africa
By
AFP
| Aug 15, 2024
At least 39 people are still missing following a massive garbage landslide in the Ugandan capital Kampala at the weekend that has claimed 26 lives so far, police said Wednesday.
The dumpsite in the northern district of Kiteezi collapsed on Saturday after heavy rains, burying people, homes and livestock in mountains of fetid rubbish.
"Thirty-nine people were registered as missing," Kampala metropolitan police spokesman Patrick Onyango said, adding that the death toll had risen to 26.
"These include 35 community members and four garbage collectors," he said, drawing information from a preliminary recovery operation.
An official previously said that at least five children were among those killed.
READ MORE
Global storytelling season to spotlight Nairobi voices after two-year break
DR Congo call for UN to recognise 'genocide' is 'stupid': Rwanda
Does Ruto feel for hustlers after meteoric rise to empire builder?
Ruto signs deal to mobilise Sh12.9 trillion for Africa's green industrial initiative
UN probe suggests war crimes by all sides in DR Congo conflict
M23 rebels reaffirm commitment to Doha mediation despite rift with DRC government
DR Congo, M23 talks resume in Doha: Qatar
Parliament to have say on sale of State corporations
Combat resumes between M23, Congo army in east DRC
Probe blames operator for 'preventable' Titanic sub disaster
Excavators have been churning through the huge rubbish mounds as the desperate search for survivors continues following the collapse.
Several areas in Uganda and other parts of East Africa have been battered by heavy rains recently, including Ethiopia, the second most populous country on the continent.
Devastating mudslides in a remote mountainous area in southern Ethiopia last month killed around 250 people.