At least 21 people are now known to have died after a landslide at a giant rubbish dump in Uganda’s capital Kampala, police say.
Rescuers are continuing to dig through the rubble in the hope of finding more survivors after a landslide that followed weeks of torrential rain.
The 36-acre (14 ha) Kiteezi landfill is the only landfill serving the entire Kampala, a city of approximately four million people.
Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago told AFP news agency it was “a disaster”. [that] “It’s certain to happen,” and “many more people may still be buried.”
City officials have reportedly been trying to find a new site for years.
A large hill formed by accumulated waste collapsed late Friday night, burying homes on the edge of the area as residents slept, Reuters news agency reported.
President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into why people were allowed to live so close to a “potentially hazardous and dangerous rubbish dump”, and has ordered the relocation of those living in what he called a “dangerous area”.
On Monday morning, a national police spokesman said 21 bodies had been found, including four children.
Kampala police spokesman Patrick Onyango told AFP on Sunday that 14 people had been rescued.
“Rescue operations are continuing until we are sure no one is trapped,” he said.
About 1,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of the landslide, Mr Onyango said. He did not say how many lived at the site or whether they lived nearby.
Many people make a living by rummaging through trash piles for anything they can resell.
The Uganda Red Cross has provided tents for those needing temporary shelter.
