Fresh landslides kill five in Bududa

Five bodies have so far been retrieved from beneath boulders and mud following fresh landslides in Bududa district last night.

According to Uganda Red Cross spokesperson, Irene Nakasiita, five bodies have been recovered in Bunamwamba North, Bunamwamba Main and Bunamwamba South villages and Bunamwamba parish in Buwali sub-county.

The humanitarian agency said the five bodies – Mary Serina Kibone, 73, Patrick Wakuwemba, 4, Stella Alice, 7, Mary Kimono, 13 and another of an identified boy – have been recovered today in the four worst-hit areas in the sub-county. The bodies, the agency said, have been handed over to the families at Bukalasi police post.

“We can confirm that five bodies have been recovered in a rescue effort and our team is working with the district officials and the locals to try to see if there are more bodies. The area that has been affected by the latest floods is vast,” New Vision reports.

But she added that the rescue effort is currently concentrated in the three affected villages and Buwasi parish. The latest landslides were triggered by the rains that reportedly started pounding the mudslide-prone area last night.

Triggered by rains, boulders and mud from the slopes of Mt. Elgon barreled through villages – blanketing several homes and crop fields.

“They are multiple landslides. They occurred in many areas and the rescue teams are trying to see how they can get to every affected place. The rescue effort could take longer since it is threatening to rain again and that could make some areas inaccessible,” Nakasiita added.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), in a statement, said there are reports of destruction of property and missing persons following the landslides.

“Search and rescue teams are on the ground and we pray that the missing persons are found alive…..in the meantime people living on the slopes of Mt. Elgon continue to be advised to move away and seek shelter with friends and relatives in lower and safer grounds…..,” the statement reads.

The state minister for environment, Mary Goretti Kitutu, said, “I am travelling to Bududa to work with the local teams and advise. The people affected are in the areas where we have always discouraged people from living,”

Additional reporting by New Vision