Ethiopia landslide kills at least 146 as search operations continue

Monday’s death toll was reported at 55, but it rose dramatically as search operations continued in the area, said Kassahun Abayneh, head of the Gofa Zone communications office. Gofa Zone is the administrative area where the mudslides occurred.

Most of the victims were buried in a mudslide on Monday morning as rescuers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another mudslide the previous day.

At least five people have been pulled alive from the mud, Ayele said.

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

Images shared on Facebook by the state-affiliated media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Monday showed hundreds of people near a devastating scene of tumbled red soil.

The photographs showed people using their bare hands to dig through the dirt in search of survivors.

Gofa zone is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and located north of the Maze National Park.

The South Ethiopia regional state has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN’s humanitarian response agency OCHA.

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