Dozens killed in Uganda mudslide

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.

Ugandan media said the landslide engulfed an entire village in the eastern Bududa district near Mt Elgon on Monday night.

“Forty-five bodies have already been recovered,” Tarsis Kabwegyere, Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, told Reuters.

“About 300 people are feared buried by the landslide and the landslides are expected to continue as the rains intensify in the region.”

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.—Reuters