Victims buried alive: Over 40 dead after heavy landslide!

By Henry Wasswa and Helena Kreiensiek

Kampala (Uganda) - Around three weeks after a severe landslide in Uganda, the number of confirmed fatalities has risen to 40.

At the end of November, around 40 houses were buried by mud and debris following heavy rainfall in the Bulambuli region. The rescue work is still ongoing.

"We assume that up to a hundred people were buried alive," Faheera Mpalanyi, the commissioner responsible for Bulambuli, told the German Press Agency.

However, it is no longer expected that survivors will be found. More than 2,500 people are housed in makeshift camps. The damage was particularly severe on the southern slopes of Mount Elgon.

Rescue work is severely hampered because many roads and bridges have been destroyed. The East African country is often hit by heavy rainfall, which leads to disasters, especially in the mountainous regions.