Over 50 people were killed on Monday in landslides in the Gofa zone in southern Ethiopia. The death toll is expected to rise. It rose to over 200, according to latest reports.
Dozens of people lost their lives in sudden landslide accidents that occurred in Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia, at around 4:00 am on Monday.
“More than 55 bodies have been found from the landslides,” a statement from the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department said on Monday, quoting local chief Dagmawi Zerihun, who warned “the death toll could yet increase”
The first landslide occurred around 0700 GMT following heavy rains in the remote region, Dagmawi 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 morning, locals, including police, gathered at the site to save those who were affected by the first landslide” he added.
Meskir Mitku, the district general administrator of Gofa district in the Southern Ethiopia region, said women, children and local police were among the dead.
An unknown number of local residents who gathered at the scene for rescue operations were also victims of the accident, said a zonal government official.
According to information released by local government officials on Tuesday, death toll has risen to 225. Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed offered condolences to the families of those who died in this incident.
Read more..
Fano Asegid Mekonnen Arrested by Ethiopian Security Forces