Landslide at landfill in Uganda’s capital kills 13 people with other feared trapped

The death toll from a landslide at a vast garbage dump in Uganda’s capital Kampala has risen to 13, police said on Sunday, as rescuers continue to dig for survivors.

After torrential rain in recent weeks a chunk of garbage from the city’s only landfill site broke off late on Friday, crushing and burying homes on the edge of the site as residents slept.

On Saturday, the Kampala Capital City Authority had put the death toll at eight.

“The latest we have is 13 dead, but rescue services are continuing,” said police spokesperson Patrick Onyango.

At least 14 people have been rescued so far, he said, adding that more could still be trapped but the number is unknown.

Tents have been set up nearby for those displaced by the landslide, Uganda Red Cross said.

The landfill, known as Kiteezi, has served as Kampala’s sole garbage dump for decades and had turned into a big hill. Residents have long complained of hazardous waste from the site polluting the environment and posing a danger to people.

Efforts by the city authority to procure a new landfill site have dragged on for years. There have been similar tragedies elsewhere in Africa from poorly managed mountains of municipal garbage.

In 2017 at least 115 people were killed in Ethiopia, crushed by a landslide at a garbage dump in Addis Ababa. In Mozambique, at least 17 people died in a similar 2018 disaster in Maputo.

Footage from NTV Uganda television showed people walking on a section of the landfill that had crushed parts of a house, while pictures from UBC Uganda showed an excavator attempting to dig up garbage.

Parts of Uganda have been experiencing heavy rains in recent weeks causing flooding and landslides, though no fatalities had previously been reported.