KAMPALA  –  At least 12 people are now known to have died after a landslide at a massive rubbish dump in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Rescuers are continuing to dig through the waste in the hope of finding more survivors after the landslide, which followed weeks of torrential rain.

The 36-acre (14-hectare) Kiteezi landfill is the only one serving the whole of Kampala, a city home to an estimated four million people. Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago said it was “a disaster that was bound to happen”. The city authorities have reportedly been trying to find a new site for many years.

A huge hill formed by the build-up of rubbish collapsed late last Friday night, burying houses on the edge of the site while residents were asleep, reports the Reuters news agency. Last Saturday, the death toll was given as eight, including two children. Kampala police spokesman Patrick Onyango told AFP that four more bodies had been retrieved, while 14 people had been rescued. “The rescue operation is still ongoing until we are sure no-one is trapped,” he said.

Onyango said that some 1,000 people had been forced to leave their homes because of the landslide. He did not specify how many had been living on the site, or whether they were living nearby. Many people earn their living by trawling through the piles of rubbish looking for anything that can be resold. The Uganda Red Cross has been providing tents to those in need of temporary shelter. (BBC)

Photo: Rescue workers searching for survivors after the landslide.  (AFP)…[+]