Ethiopia: 50 dead in Gofa due to landslides triggered by heavy rain

At least 50 bodies were pulled from the mud on Monday following two landslides in southern Ethiopia, a local official said.

“There was a heavy rain yesterday night and some people died from a landslide,” said Kassahun Abayneh, the government spokesperson for Gofa district in the South Ethiopia regional state.

“In the (Monday) morning, locals, including police, gathered at the site to save those who were affected by the first landslide. That is when the second landslide happened around 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) today and those who gathered there died.”

Meskir Mitku, the district general administrator of Gofa district in the Southern Ethiopia region, said women, children and local police were among the dead, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.

Photographs on Facebook shared by EBC showed scores of people on a blank hillside searching for victims.