A garbage dump landslide in Colombo, Sri Lanks has killed at least 12 people, according to reports. Rescue workers are rushing to find people who may still be trapped under the rubbish which slammed into nearby houses.

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA—A massive mound of garbage collapsed in Sri Lanka, killing 19 people, injuring 13 and forcing more than 600 others to flee their homes during festivities to mark the local new year, officials said Saturday.

Soldiers on Saturday were searching the site in Meetotamulla, a town near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Four people were rescued from underneath the mound, but it was unclear whether any others were buried, said military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne, who said five children were among the dead.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said police were investigating whether the collapse Friday night was a natural disaster or a deliberate act of sabotage.

The site has been used to dump Colombo’s garbage for the past few years as authorities sought to give the capital a facelift. But residents living in tiny homes in the area have protested against all the waste being dumped there because of health hazards. </s> Colombo, April 15 - At least 16 persons died after a rubbish dump collapsed and buried their homes under tonnes of garbage outside the Sri Lankan capital, officials said. Sixteen people died and seven were injured after the collapse of the Meethotamulla rubbish dump, a worker at the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Centre told Efe news.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Nerve News. </s> 16 killed in Sri Lanka as massive mound of garbage collapses

At least 16 people were killed and more than 600 others fled their homes after a massive mound of garbage collapsed on part of a poor neighborhood near Sri Lanka’s capital during festivities to mark the local new year, officials said Saturday.

Four people were rescued from underneath the mound, but it was unclear whether any others were buried, said military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne. Soldiers were searching the site.

Seneviratne said 625 people whose homes were either destroyed or under threat were being housed in nearby schools.

The Disaster Management Center said at least 12 other people were injured in the incident, which happened Friday night in Meetotamulla, near Colombo. The site had been used to dump Colombo’s garbage for the past few years as authorities sought to give a face-lift to the capital.

However, residents living in tiny homes in the area had been protesting against waste being dumped there because of health hazards. </s> COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A massive mound of garbage collapsed in Sri Lanka, killing 19 people, injuring 13 and forcing more than 600 others to flee their homes during festivities to mark the local new year, officials said Saturday.

Soldiers on Saturday were searching the site in Meetotamulla, a town near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Four people were rescued from underneath the mound, but it was unclear whether any others were buried, said military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne, who said five children were among the dead.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said police were investigating whether the collapse Friday night was a natural disaster or a deliberate act of sabotage.

The site has been used to dump Colombo’s garbage for the past few years as authorities sought to give the capital a face-lift. But residents living in tiny homes in the area have protested against all the waste being dumped there because of health hazards.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Saturday that the government would soon remove the garbage dump from the area.

Seneviratne said 625 people whose homes were either destroyed or under threat from the collapse were being housed in nearby schools. The 13 injured were receiving treatment at the Colombo’s main state hospital. </s> A rubbish dump landslide in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo has killed at least 16 people and injured over a dozen, a military spokesman and hospital officials said this morning.

Emergency workers are digging into the mountain of trash in search of survivors.

The estimated 91m dump collapsed after flames engulfed it late yesterday, the island nation's traditional new year's day, and witnesses said around 100 houses could have been buried.

The death toll rose to 16 as more bodies were discovered this morning, army spokesman Roshan Senivirathna said.

At least four teenagers were among the dead, a nurse at the main Colombohospital told Reuters.

Rescue operations are under way with soldiers using heavy equipment to remove the garbage.

Police said about 145 houses had been damaged, but they did not say how many had been buried.

Residents of the area, mostly living in shanties, have been demanding the removal of the dump saying it was causing health issues.

The government had planned to remove it soon under an infrastructure plan. </s> 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.

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.

A city spokeswoman told AP news agency that many children were among the dead.

There are fears the death toll could rise further.

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. </s> BALTIMORE, MD (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – No fewer than 48 people have been killed in a landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of Addis Ababa the Ethiopia’s capital.

The officials said many people are still missing since the landslide occurred Saturday night at the Koshe landfill. A resident said 150 people were there at the time. Many children were reportedly among the dead.

A number of makeshift houses are presently buried under tonnes of waste.

The area has been a dumping ground for Addis Ababa’s rubbish for over five decades.

There are fears that the death toll could rise further.

Hundreds of people who attempt to make a living by scavenging at the landfill site, sifting through the rubbish for items they can sell. Reports said some people even resided at the rubbish dump permanently. </s> At least 48 people, 15 of them children, were killed in a landslide at a huge garbage dump on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the city's spokesman said on Monday. People gather at the site after a landslide at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in this still image taken from a video from March 12, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. </s> ADDIS ABABA: A landslide at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa has killed at least 24 people, a city spokesman told AFP on Sunday (Mar 12).

The landslide late Saturday levelled more than 30 homes and left 28 people injured, many of whom were squatters scavenging from the Koshe landfill, said Dagmawit Moges, head of the Addis Ababa city communications bureau.

Many of the victims were squatters, who scavenged for valuables in the dump, he said.

"We expect the number of victims to increase because the landslide covered a relatively large area," he said.

The Koshe site has for more than 40 years been one of the main garbage dumps for Addis Ababa, a rapidly growing city of some four million people.
A landfill slide in Colombo, Sri Lanka, kills at least 16 people.