7/26/2024–|Last update: 7/26/202403:22 PM (Makkah Time)
Search for survivors and recovery of bodies continues in the Gofa area in the south. Ethiopiawhich witnessed landslides last Monday, resulting in the death of more than 250 people, according to medical sources.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that volunteers are digging with their hands and simple tools, given the difficulty of rescue vehicles reaching the area due to the rugged terrain. He also pointed out that the continued rainfall is complicating rescue operations and causing new landslides.
An Ethiopian government official had previously announced that the number of victims of the two landslides in the south of the country had risen to 157 people, indicating that the number could rise, according to Reuters.
Other officials said a landslide buried several people in the Gofa area of southern Ethiopia, followed by another landslide that buried people trying to rescue survivors on Monday morning.
Reuters quoted the head of the National Disaster Management Agency in the Gofa region, Marcos Milesi, as saying that the search is still ongoing and that there are bodies that have not yet been recovered due to the difficulty of the area.
The administrative area of Gofa is located about 450 kilometers from the capital. Addis AbabaThe journey takes about 10 hours by car.
Images released by authorities in the Gofa area showed residents gathered at the foot of a tree- and grass-covered mountain, where a large section of it had broken off. The images also showed a resident digging through a thick layer of red clay with a hand tool, with no emergency services visible in the area.
Southern Ethiopia was hit by seasonal rains in April and May, causing flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The office indicated yesterday, Thursday, that the death toll from landslides is expected to reach 500, amid challenges that hinder rescue operations.