At least 18 dead and extra nonetheless lacking after landfill web site collapses in Uganda

An unlimited landfill web site collapsed in Uganda’s capital metropolis on Friday, killing at the least 18 folks, the Red Cross stated. Eighteen was the most recent quantity reported by the nonprofit on Sunday as searches drew on for individuals who nonetheless had not been accounted for, however Uganda Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja stated later that it had risen to twenty. The demise toll was anticipated to proceed to climb.

Fourteen different folks have been injured when the Kiteezi landfill, which serves as a waste disposal web site for a lot of Kampala, collapsed late Friday. At least two of the dead have been kids, Kampala Capital City Authority stated in an announcement.

No new survivors have been rescued from the location on Sunday, the prime minister’s workplace stated in a social media put up. As of 6:30 p.m. within the native time zone, 4 folks have been lacking, in response to the workplace.

Day 2 of Kiteezi Land Fill Operation as at 6.30pm;
– Death toll 20.
– No new survivors rescued right this moment.
– Search 4 lacking our bodies continues.
– Coordination of all stakeholders efficiently ongoing.
⁦@R_Nabbanja⁩, ⁦@UgandaRedCross⁩, ⁦@GenWamala, ⁦@LillianAber⁩.. pic.twitter.com/Ial9DG4WWU

— Office of the Prime Minister – Uganda (@OPMUganda) August 11, 2024

The collapse is believed to have been triggered by heavy rainfall. The exact particulars of what occurred have been unclear, however the metropolis authority stated there was a “structural failure in waste mass.”

Irene Nakasiita, a spokeswoman for the Uganda Red Cross, stated the toll reached 18 after extra our bodies have been retrieved from the scene Sunday.

“The evaluation just isn’t but accomplished,” she stated, including that rainfall was slowing the efforts of rescue groups digging by heaps of trash.

The Kiteezi landfill is on a steep slope in an impoverished a part of the town. Women and youngsters who scavenge plastic waste for revenue regularly collect there, and a few houses have been constructed near the landfill.

Kampala authorities for years have thought of closing the location and commissioning a bigger space exterior the town as a waste disposal web site. It was not clear why the plan has didn’t take off since 2016.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation into the incident, asking in a collection of posts on the social platform X why folks have been residing in shut proximity to an unstable heap of rubbish.

“Who allowed folks to reside close to such a doubtlessly hazardous and harmful heap?” Museveni stated, including that effluent from the location is hazardous sufficient that individuals shouldn’t be residing there.