Children among dozens killed in landslides in remote area of ​​southern Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – At least 55 people have died in landslides in a remote region of Ethiopia following heavy rains, a local official said.

Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the landslides in Kencho Shacha Gozdi district in southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator.

Most of the victims were buried under a landslide on Monday morning while rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another landslide the previous day.

Five people were pulled alive from the mud, Ayele said.

“There are children hugging corpses because they lost their entire family in the accident, including their mother, father, brother and sister,” he said.

The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue.

Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy season, which began in July and is expected to last until mid-September.