Ugandan officials find victims of rubbish mountain collapse In the capital, Kampala, the death toll has risen to 21, while rescue teams are still searching for people who may have been crushed by the rubbish.
Foreign news agencies reported that the number of people killed in the garbage mountain at the Kitezh landfill in Kampala. The landslide that occurred on Friday night (August 9) increased to at least 21 dead after officials found additional bodies on Sunday, August 11, 2024, while 14 others were injured.
It was initially thought that the collapse of the garbage pile was the result of heavy rains. This caused the structure of the garbage pile to collapse, but until now it has not been revealed exactly what happened.
At least two children were killed, the Kampala capital said, while Irene Nakasiita, a spokeswoman for the Uganda Red Cross Society, said officials had yet to assess the scene. It was still raining, which meant the rescue team had to dig through the pile of rubbish that was high above. It was too late.
The Kitesi landfill site is located on a steep slope in a poor area of Kampala. It is where almost all the rubbish in the capital is dumped. Women and children often gather to dig up plastic waste to sell for money. Many houses have been built near this dump.
Kampala city officials are planning to close the area. A new, larger landfill site was opened outside the city in 2016, but it has not been revealed why the plan has not been implemented.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into the collapse of the rubbish mountain. Many questions have been raised online, including why people live near the unstable rubbish mountains.
“Who allows people to live near a dangerous and disastrous landfill?” Museveni said in a post on X. “The waste coming out of this landfill is so dangerous that people should not live there.
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