At least 15 people have been killed and more than 100 are missing as landslides bury houses in Uganda

AP
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At least 15 people have been killed and 113 others are still missing in landslides that buried homes in six villages in eastern Uganda said the police.

Another 15 injured people were rescued and admitted to the Buluganya Health Center.

This was announced by the Uganda Red Cross Society on Thursday 13 bodies were recovered after landslides buried 40 houses, and the rescue operation continued.

Local media reported that authorities expected the death toll to rise to 30.

The landslides occurred after heavy rains on Wednesday evening in the mountainous Bulambuli region, where landslides are common. The district is located approximately 280 kilometers (173 miles) east of the capital, Kampala.

A local journalist told the Associated Press that local officials said an excavator would be brought in to help with the rescue effort, but the roads were covered with mud and rain was still falling.

The affected area covers approximately 50 acres (20 ha) with farmsteads and farmland extending downstream.

Photos and videos of people digging through mud in search of victims were shared on social media platforms. Some houses were completed covered in mud, while others had only a roof protruding above the ground.

The Daily Monitor newspaper reported that most of the bodies recovered so far were children.

The prime minister’s office issued a disaster warning on Wednesday, saying heavy rains across the country had cut off major roads.

Two rescue boats capsized on Wednesday during a rescue operation on the Nile, where the Pakwach Bridge was submerged.