The death toll from last week’s devastating landslide in eastern Uganda has climbed to 28, including two three-year-old boys whose bodies were recovered from the mud, police reported. Dozens remain missing.
The landslide, which struck on Wednesday, buried multiple villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano near the border with Kenya, roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Kampala. Initially, 17 deaths were confirmed, with over 100 people feared missing.
Authorities have since recovered more victims, though details remain scarce. The Uganda Red Cross attributes the disaster to unusually heavy rains, which have caused widespread flooding and landslides across the country, exacerbated by climate change.
The region has a tragic history of landslides, including one in 2010 that claimed at least 80 lives. Efforts to relocate residents from high-risk areas have faced significant challenges, as many lack the resources to move.
Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing.
