ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 55 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, according to a local official.
Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator.
Most of the victims were buried in a mudslide on Monday morning as rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another mudslide the previous day.
Five people have been pulled alive from the mud, Ayele said.
“There are children who are hugging corpses, having lost their entire family, including mother, father, brother and sister, due to the accident,” he said.
The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue.
Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy reason, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September.