Sawt Falasteen - Two children among eight dead in Uganda landfill collapse

Local media said homes, people and animals were engulfed in the landslide at the garbage dump in Kiteezi, a district in the north of Kampala, after heavy rainfall.

"On a very sad note eight people have so far been found dead, six adults and two children," the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The KCCA, which operates the landfill site, said 14 people had been rescued and taken to hospital. It did not disclose their condition.

"The rescue operation is still ongoing and we shall share updates as they come in," it added.

Images from the site of the tragedy showed an excavator shifting through piles of rubbish as crowds of local residents looked on.

The KCCA said there was a "structural failure in waste mass this morning resulting in a collapsed section of the landfill".

"Our teams, along with other government agencies are on ground taking the necessary measures to ensure the area is secure and to prevent any further incidents," it added.

The Daily Monitor, an independent newspaper in Uganda, said on its website that the head of the city authority Erias Lukwago had warned in January that people working and living near the Kiteezi landfill were at risk of numerous health hazards due to overflowing waste.

S.Barghouti--SF-PST