Repeated mudslides trap rescuers as more than 220 killed in Ethiopia

Major mudslides have killed more than 220 people in a remote part of Ethiopia with many of those who tried to rescue survivors among the dead.

Heavy rain in the south of the country has triggered numerous mudslides in recent days, with the prime minister calling the deaths a "terrible loss."

Young children and pregnant women were among the victims in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator, adding that at least five people have been pulled out alive.

The death toll rose sharply from the initial 55 killed late on Monday, with search operations continuing in the area.

Ethiopia’s ruling party said in a statement it felt sorrow over the disaster. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a Facebook statement that he was “deeply saddened by this terrible loss.”

The federal disaster prevention task force has been deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts, Abiy’s statement said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were still unaccounted for.

Many victims were buried on Monday as rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another mudslide the previous day.

Markos Melese, director of the disaster response agency in Gofa Zone, said many rescuers remained missing.

“There are children who are hugging corpses, having lost their entire family, including mother, father, brother and sister,” he said.

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Some women wailed as rescuers attempted to dig through the thick mud with shovels.

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

Deadly mudslides often occur in the wider East African region, from Uganda’s mountainous east to central Kenya’s highlands.

In April, at least 45 people were killed in Kenya’s Rift Valley region when flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road.

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