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Ethiopia rubbish landslide kills 48 in Addis Ababa | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
At least 48 people have been killed in a landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, officials say. | |
They say dozens of people are still missing since the landslide on Saturday night at the Koshe landfill. A resident said 150 people were there at the time. | They say dozens of people are still missing since the landslide on Saturday night at the Koshe landfill. A resident said 150 people were there at the time. |
A number of makeshift houses are now buried under tonnes of waste. | A number of makeshift houses are now buried under tonnes of waste. |
The area has been a dumping ground for Addis Ababa's rubbish for more than five decades. | The area has been a dumping ground for Addis Ababa's rubbish for more than five decades. |
A city spokeswoman told AP news agency that many children were among the dead. | |
There are fears the death toll could rise further. | |
Local resident Musa Suleiman Abdulah told AFP he heard "a big sound" and saw "something like a tornado... rushing to us" when the landslide occurred. | |
Tebeju Asres said that the family's house had been swallowed by the landslide. | |
"My mother and three of my sisters were there when the landslide happened. Now I don't know the fate of all of them," he told AP. | |
Hundreds of people attempt to make a living by scavenging at the landfill site, sifting through the rubbish for items they can sell, the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in Addis Ababa reports. | |
Some people even resided at the rubbish dump permanently. | |
The authorities have been building Africa's first waste-to-energy plant near the landfill. | The authorities have been building Africa's first waste-to-energy plant near the landfill. |
They plan to burn rubbish generated by the capital's estimated four million people and convert it into electricity. | They plan to burn rubbish generated by the capital's estimated four million people and convert it into electricity. |