According to a government official on Tuesday, the number of fatalities from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has surged to 229 and may go up as rescue efforts continue into a second day.
In the Gofa zone of the Southern Ethiopia regional state, people were buried by a landslide on Sunday night, and on Monday morning, more engulfed those who had assembled to assist.
“I’m not sure when it will end. The head of the National Disaster Response agency in the Gofa Zone, Markos Melese, told Reuters over the phone that “we are still recovering bodies.”
“We continue to excavate,” Melese declared.
Children and police officers were among the at least 50 persons who had passed away, according to an official statement on Monday.
The local government released footage of individuals using shovels and their bare hands to remove bodies from the ground.
“The number of fatalities increased as rescuers became entangled themselves in the maze,” Gofa district administrator Misikir Mitiku stated.
Mitiku remarked, “It is a very sad incident.”
President Abiy Ahmed expressed his profound sadness over the horrific death toll and announced that federal personnel had been sent in to lessen the disaster’s effects.
African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat posted on social media site X, saying, “We stand in strong solidarity with the people and government of Ethiopia as rescue efforts continue to find the missing and assist the displaced.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Ethiopian-born head of the World Health Organization (WHO), expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and announced the dispatch of a WHO team to address urgent medical requirements.
