At least 21 people have died following a landslide at a large rubbish dump in Kampala, Uganda, according to police reports. Rescue teams are actively searching through the debris in hopes of finding more survivors after the landslide, which occurred after weeks of heavy rainfall.
The Kiteezi landfill, covering 36 acres (14 hectares), is the sole waste disposal site for Kampala, a city with approximately four million residents.
Kampala’s Mayor, Erias Lukwago, expressed that this disaster was inevitable and warned that many more victims could still be trapped. City officials have been seeking a new landfill site for several years. The landslide, which took place late Friday night, buried houses adjacent to the dump while residents were asleep, as reported by Reuters.
President Yoweri Museveni has called for an investigation into how people were allowed to live so close to such a hazardous area and has ordered the evacuation of those in the “danger zone.” By Monday morning, police confirmed that 21 bodies had been recovered, including four children, and that 14 individuals had been rescued.
The rescue operation will continue until it is confirmed that no one else is trapped. Additionally, around 1,000 people have been displaced due to the landslide, although it remains unclear how many were living on or near the site. Many locals make a living by scavenging through the waste for items that can be resold.
