The death toll from a landslide at a vast garbage dump in Uganda\u2019s capital Kampala has risen to 17, a Red Cross official said on Sunday, as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors. <\/p>\n
After torrential rain in recent weeks a huge mound of garbage at the city\u2019s only landfill site collapsed late on Friday, crushing and burying homes on the edge of the site as residents slept. <\/p>\n
Four more bodies were retrieved on Sunday, bringing the total to 17, Irene Nakasita, spokesperson for Uganda Red Cross said. <\/p>\n
Earlier on Sunday, police spokesperson Patrick Onyango had put the death toll at 13, up from eight that the Kampala Capital City Authority had reported on Saturday. <\/p>\n
President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement he had directed the prime minister to coordinate the removal of all those living near the garbage dump. <\/p>\n
The government has also started investigations into the landslide\u2019s cause and will take action against any officials found to have been negligent, the Inspectorate of Government said on X. <\/p>\n
At least 14 people have been rescued so far, Onyango said, adding that more could still be trapped but the number was unknown. <\/p>\n
Tents have been set up nearby for those displaced by the landslide, the Red Cross said. <\/p>\n
The landfill site, known as Kiteezi, has served as Kampala\u2019s sole garbage dump for decades and had turned into a big hill. <\/p>\n
Residents have long complained of hazardous waste polluting the environment and posing a danger to residents. <\/p>\n
Efforts by the city authority to procure a new landfill site have dragged on for years. <\/p>\n
There have been similar tragedies elsewhere in Africa from poorly managed mountains of municipal garbage. <\/p>\n
In 2017 at least 115 people were killed in Ethiopia, crushed by a garbage landslide in Addis Ababa. In Mozambique, at least 17 people died in a similar 2018 disaster in Maputo. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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