Death toll in Uganda landslide expected to rise

  • 12 years ago
EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL

Hundreds of people are still missing in eastern Uganda after a landslide buried several settlements in a coffee-growing area on the slopes of Mount Elgon straddling the Kenyan border, the Uganda Red Cross said.

At least 18 people were killed, but that number is expected to rise.

The area affected produces coffee in what is the third biggest economy in east Africa.

The Uganda Red Cross said it had sent a team of volunteers to assess the situation.

Rain has fallen regularly on parts of Uganda over much of the past two months, even though this is usually a dry period between the rainy seasons.

Landslides caused by heavy rains are frequent in eastern Uganda, where at least 23 people were killed last year after mounds of mud buried their homes. Scores of people were buried alive in a similar disaster in March 2010.

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