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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has jumped to 229 and could rise further as the search for survivors and casualties continued into a second day, a government official said on Tuesday.
Following heavy rain, a landslide buried people in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state on Sunday night, then a second one engulfed others who had gathered to help on Monday morning.
The aftermath of a landslide in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state, July 23, 2024. /Reuters
"I don't know when it will stop. We are still recovering bodies," Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gofa Zone, told Reuters by phone.
"We are still digging."
On Monday an official said at least 50 people had died and children and police officers were among the dead.
Footage shared by the local administration showed people digging up bodies with shovels and bare hands.
"The death toll surged after the people who came to rescue also got trapped," said Gofa district administrator Misikir Mitiku. "It is a very sad incident."
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he was deeply saddened by the terrible loss of life, and that federal officials had been deployed to reduce the impact of the disaster.