Kampala: Landslides caused by heavy overnight rains have killed at least 12 people in western Uganda, Red Cross officials said Tuesday.
Mud slid down mountains belonging to the Ruwenzori range and hit the town of Bubukwanga and surrounding areas near the Congolese border.
"Twelve bodies have been retrieved ... We believe there are more buried under the rubble," said Irene Nakasiita from the Ugandan Red Cross.
The landslides also buried an unknown number of houses, reported German press agency (dpa).
"The whole place is flooded. Many of the victims were found sleeping, because the rains fell at night. Our technical team is working with others to assess the situation, rescue the survivors and get out the bodies," Nakasiita said.
She said the UN children's fund UNICEF had provided a drone to locate affected areas which were difficult to access in the mountainous terrain.
QNA
