Ethiopia Landslide: Death Toll Climbs To 157, Toll Expected To Rise

At least 157 people have died following two landslides in southern Ethiopia, a government official said on Tuesday.

The deadly landslide occurred on Monday morning at around 10:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) in southern Ethiopia’s Geze Gofa district.

Local officials said that the death toll could increase as rescue continued.

“Searching is still going on, and there are bodies that are yet to be recovered. The area is very challenging,” Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gofa Zone, told Reuters.

“We have so far recovered 157 bodies from two villages … We believe the number will increase.”

Ethiopia is in the midst of a rainy season, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September. Constant rains occasionally cause landslides in some parts of the East African country.

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