At least 60 people have been killed after a landslide swept through a fishing village on the banks of Lake Albert in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The landslide in the village of Tora of Ituri province was triggered on Wednesday by heavy rain in recent weeks, officials said.

Pacifique Keta, deputy governor of Ituri province, told AFP news agency on Thursday that part of a mountain engulfed "a fisherman's camp after heavy rains caused a landslide".

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According to the governor's office and hospital officials, five people have been rescued while efforts were under way with hundreds of other villagers missing.

A doctor at the Tshomia Hospital, Herve Isamba, told AFP they were treating four people.

The affected village is located between a mountainous area and Lake Albert.

Congo is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, with about 7.7 million people on the verge of starvation, according to UN food agencies.

The incident comes after more than 400 people were killed by a massive mudslide in Sierra Leone on Monday.

In May 2010, a mudslide swept over the eastern Congo village of Kibiriga and killed 19 people. Bodies of 27 others were never recovered.

In February 2002, about 50 people were found dead after a wave of mud and rocks hit the eastern town of Uvira, submerging about 150 homes. </s> A landslide has swept over a fishing village on the banks of a lake in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 40 people, a regional official said today. Part of a mountain engulfed “a fisherman’s camp after heavy rains caused a landslide” the deputy governor of Ituri province, Pacifique Keta, told AFP.

He said 40 people were killed in the disaster in the village of Tora on the banks of Lake Albert on Wednesday. It follows devastating floods in the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown on Monday that killed some 300 people.

“Yesterday, we buried 28 bodies and today we will bury 12 more,” said Keta.

A doctor at the nearby Tshomia hospital, Herve Isamba, said they were treating four people injured in the landslide. The vast country has experienced a number of previous such disasters. In May 2010, a mudslide that swept over the eastern village of Kibiriga killed 19 people: the bodies of 27 others were never recovered.

In February 2002, about 50 people were found dead after a wave of mud and rocks hit the eastern town of Uvira, submerging about 150 homes. Fishing on Lake Albert is one of the main occupations in Ituri, which borders Uganda. The province, rich in gold deposits, saw several outbreaks of violence during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003. That ended with the aid of a French-led international military intervention.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AFP) - A landslide in a fishing village on the banks of a lake in the north-east Democratic Republic of Congo, has killed 40 people, a regional official said on Thursday (Aug 17).

Part of a mountain engulfed "a fisherman's camp after heavy rains caused a landslide", the deputy governor of Ituri province, Mr Pacifique Keta, said.

He added that 40 people were killed in the disaster in the village of Tora, on the banks of Lake Albert on Wednesday.

The news comes on the heels of devastating floods in the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown on Monday that killed some 300 people.

"Yesterday (Aug 16), we buried 28 bodies and today we will bury 12 more," said Mr Keta.

A doctor at the nearby Tshomia hospital, Dr Herve Isamba, said they were treating four people injured in the landslide.

Mr Keta said two people were also killed on Wednesday when an illegal mine flooded in the nearby Walendu Piti area.

The vast country has experienced a number of previous such disasters.

In May 2010, a mudslide that swept over the eastern village of Kibiriga killed 19 people. The bodies of 27 others were never recovered.

In February 2002, about 50 people were found dead after a wave of mud and rocks hit the eastern town of Uvira, submerging about 150 homes.

Fishing on Lake Albert is one of the main occupations in Ituri, which borders Uganda.

The province, rich in gold deposits, saw several outbreaks of violence during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003.

That ended with the aid of a French-led international military intervention. </s> Authorities in northeastern Congo say at least 40 people are dead after a mudslide in Ituri province.

Gov. Abdallah Pene Mbaka said Thursday that teams are being sent to assess the damage in the village of Tora. The disaster followed heavy rains in the fishing community along Lake Albert.

Jean-Bosco Lalu, who leads civil society groups in the nearby regional hub of Bunia, says 30 bodies have been recovered and the toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.

Many people die each year in Congo as the result of poorly regulated development. People often built their homes near mines and bodies of water, only to become vulnerable to disasters caused by soil erosion and flooding. </s> At least 31 people have been killed when a landslide rolled down the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda, wrecking homes and burying animals.

Martin Owor, Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness and Management, said the landslide tumbled onto a small town on the mountain’s slopes on Thursday afternoon.

“Most of the people were caught at the trading centre, the landslide pushed huge boulders into a river which burst its banks and the water swept away the people,” Owor added.

“Many more are missing, feared dead, we are reaching the peak of the second rainy season and it rained very heavily today,” he added.

The area, about 250km from the capital, Kampala, is close to the border with Kenya and is prone to landslides.

Relief teams are now combing the area to search and rescue survivors, Owor said.

“There are people who were displaced and they need shelter, food and all other support and we’re moving that relief to the area.”

Some of the bodies were partly covered with banana leaves by people present at the site.

At least 100 people were killed in a landslide in Bududa in March 2010. In 2012, landslides destroyed three villages in the region.

The government’s efforts to move vulnerable people to neighbouring districts have faced resistance from residents. </s> At least 41 dead in Uganda landslide

UGANDA: At least 41 people were killed after a river in eastern Uganda burst its banks, sending a torrent of mud and rocks barrelling into homes, disaster officials and survivors said Friday.

Rescue teams continued picking through the rubble late Friday, searching for survivors and victims of the disaster which took place the previous day in the eastern Bududa district.

"41 lives have been lost but they´re still going ahead digging, trying to look for whether there are other bodies in the riverbed somewhere," said Hilary Onek, Uganda´s minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees.

"There are casualties up in the hills," he added, referring to higher ground where the river burst its banks before washing away homes lower down.

Onek said 38 bodies had so far been found, as well as dismembered limbs believed to belong to three more individuals.

Survivors spoke of panic and horror as water cascaded down the hillside.

At the hillside Nanyinza village, the Sume river rushed past the ruins of a concrete bridge swept away by the heavy rainfall.

"The moment we saw the water coming we ran and climbed a hill," said John Makimpi a 28-year-old fish trader from Nanyinza who got involved in the ad hoc rescue effort.

"We dragged seven bodies from the river," he said, adding that four of the bodies had been smashed beyond recognition by falling rocks.

Irene Namutosi, 30 and with her legs caked in mud, watched as a solitary mechanical digger struggled to clear huge tree trunks and boulders from the road.

"We found three dead people at one bridge and another three further down the river," she said. "Some didn´t have arms or legs because the water and stones hit them so hard."

Government meteorologist Godfrey Mujuni said it was the River Sume, a tributary of the River Manafwa, that had burst its banks.

"It´s a mountainous region and because of the high altitude and steep slopes even a small amount of rain can trigger landslides. There is no early warning system in that particular area hit yesterday."

"The rains are still coming and the government and NGOs need to keep their preparedness levels high," he warned.

Nathan Tumuhamye, director of an organisation that helps communities recover from natural disasters and conflict, told AFP that "four to five villages" had been affected.

Bududa district in the foothills of Mount Elgon, which lies on the border between Uganda and Kenya, is a high risk area for landslides.

At least 100 people were reported killed in a landslide in Bududa in March 2010, and in 2012 landslides destroyed three villages.

Downriver from Nanyinza, a small crowd gathered round the bodies of a girl and her grandmother, swept away as they returned from a hospital appointment.

Lacking a child´s coffin mourners simply wrapped the body of the five-year-old in a yellow scarf and laid her on a woven sack next to her grandmother´s white coffin.

Relief workers expect to bury more in the days to come. </s> A landslide following heavy rains in eastern Uganda has killed more than 30 people.

It is feared that the death toll could rise as a government rescue team reaches the Mount Elgon area.

A river burst its banks and a torrent of mud and water swept villages away. Pictures from the scene show people retrieving bodies from the mud and carrying them away.

A landslide in the same region, Bududa, killed more than 300 people in 2010.
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• Why would you move back after a landslide?

It is a mountainous place with volcanic soils that are rich for agriculture, but it is also densely populated, which puts a lot of pressure on arable land, reports the BBC's Patience Atuhaire in the capital, Kampala.

After previous disasters, people have been told to move away but many return because of the fertility of the land and their attachment to their ancestral home.

The Uganda Red Cross says that 36 bodies have been recovered, but a local official quoted by the Daily Monitor newspaper has said 40 bodies have been found so far.

"When the water flowed down it brought a number of big stones with it that destroyed people's houses," Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita told AFP news agency.

The prime minister's office has sent a team to assist with the search and recovery efforts, which were set to continue on Friday in the difficult hilly terrain. </s> Dozens of people have died in Uganda's mountainous town of Bukalasi, following a massive landslide. Heavy rainfall caused a river to burst its bank, sending mud and rocks which swept away many houses. Many people are still missing. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dozens killed in Uganda landslide

A landslide following heavy rains in eastern Uganda has killed more than 40 people.

It is feared that the death toll could rise as a government rescue team reaches the Mount Elgon area.

A river burst its banks and a torrent of mud and water swept villages away. Pictures from the scene show people retrieving bodies from the mud and carrying them away.

A landslide in the same region, Bududa, killed more than 300 people in 2010.

Image copyright EPA Image caption A torrent of mud and water swept houses away

It is a mountainous place with volcanic soils that are rich for agriculture, but it is also densely populated, which puts a lot of pressure on arable land, reports the BBC's Patience Atuhaire in the capital, Kampala.

After previous disasters, people have been told to move away but many return because of the fertility of the land and their attachment to their ancestral home.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The Sume river burst its banks, sending thick sludge and rocks barrelling into homes

The Uganda Red Cross says that 36 bodies have been recovered, but a local official quoted by the Daily Monitor newspaper has said 40 bodies have been found so far.

"When the water flowed down it brought a number of big stones with it that destroyed people's houses," Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita told AFP news agency.

The prime minister's office has sent a team to assist with the search and recovery efforts, which were set to continue on Friday in the difficult hilly terrain.
A landslide in a village along Lake Albert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo leaves at least 60 dead.