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Hundreds Feared Dead in Eastern Uganda Landslides |
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Written by Lydia Nsubuga
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 13:58 |
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A landslide in eastern Uganda after heavy rains killed at least 45 people and hundreds are feared missing, Uganda's Disaster Minister said on Tuesday.
The landslide engulfed an entire village in the eastern Bududa district near Mt Elgon on Monday night.
The minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Tarsis Kabwegyere confirmed reports that 45 five bodies have already been recovered.
More than 350 people are feared dead and are still missing after the disaster that hit immediately after the downpour. About 45 bodies have been retrieved from the rubble while eight people have been rushed to Bududa Hospital
Kabwegyere said a government response team was on the ground with food and the Red Cross had sent doctors. Police and volunteers were also helping in the rescue.
Parts of Uganda and neighbouring Kenya have had sustained rainfall over much of the past two months, which is usually a dry period between rainy seasons.
A local heath center was wiped out by the mudslide and only one member of the medical centre staff has been rescued. In Mabona village six bodies were retrieved from after the landslide buried worshippers in a church.
Besides landslides wide spread flooding has been reported in Butaleja, Budaka, Pallisa, Tororo, Mbale and Manafwa districts |
