10 dead in northern Ethiopia landslide

AADDIS ABABA: At least 10 people have been killed in a landslide in northern Ethiopia´s Amhara region, according to local state media, the latest natural disaster to strike the country.

The Amhara Media Corporation (AMC) reported on Saturday that “10 people have died in the disaster”, quoting local administrator Tesfaye Workneh who said four bodies had been pulled from the mud.

The report did not indicate what time the landslide occurred on Saturday in the North Gondar zone in Amhara region, or whether there was a search ongoing.

Eight other people were seriously hurt in the incident and were receiving treatment, the AMC said, citing the local official.

As many as 2,400 people had been “displaced by the disaster and are currently sheltered in local social institutions”, it added.

Photographs shared on the AMC´s official Facebook page showed people carrying what appeared to be at least one body from the epicentre of the huge mudslide.

It is the latest of a series of landslides that have occurred in Ethiopia as a result of heavy seasonal rains.

A recent United Nations OCHA report, citing the Ethiopian Metrology Institute, warned “of high risks of further flooding and landslides in most parts of the country”.