A giant landfill collapsed Friday in Uganda’s capital, killing at least 18 more people, the Red Cross said. Eighteen, the most recent figure reported through the non-profit organization on Sunday as searches continued for other people who had not yet been found, however Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja later said this figure had risen to 20. The death toll is expected to continue rising.
Fourteen other people were injured Friday night in the collapse of the Kiteezi landfill, which serves as a waste dump in much of Kampala. At least two of the dead were children, the government of the capital, Kampala, said in a statement.
No new survivors were rescued from the site on Sunday, the prime minister’s workplace said in a message posted on social media. From 6. 30 p. m. In the local time zone, four other people were missing, according to the office.
The collapse reportedly occurred due to heavy rains. The exact main points of what happened are unclear, however, city officials said there was a “structural failure in the tea dough. “
Uganda Red Cross spokesperson Irene Nakasiita said the death toll had risen to another 18 people after more bodies were recovered from the site on Sunday.
“The assessment is not yet complete,” he said, adding that the rains slowed the efforts of rescue groups searching through the piles of rubbish.
The Kiteezi landfill is located on a steep slope in a poor part of the city. Women and young people gather there to collect plastic waste to earn money, and some houses have been built near the landfill.
The Kampala government has been considering ending the site for years and creating a larger domain outside the city as a waste disposal site. It is unclear why the plan has not taken off since 2016.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation into the incident and asked in a series of posts on the social platform X why other people were living near a pile of volatile garbage.
“Who allowed other people to live near a potentially harmful and unsafe pile?” Museveni said, adding that the effluent from the site is harmful enough for no one to live there.