At least 42 people killed in Cameroon landslide

A landslide caused by heavy rains in western Cameroon killed at least 42 people overnight, state media reported on Tuesday. Rescue teams spent the day scouring the rubble of destroyed houses in the town of Bafoussam in the western highlands. Among the bodies recovered were those of 26 children, Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) reported.

The search will resume on Wednesday for additional bodies believed to remain under the rubble, CRTV reported. “Around 10 p.m. I heard a noise,” said Albert Kenge, who survived the landslide. “I saw a big cloud of dust and when it dissipated, I saw that the mountain had collapsed.”

Heavy rains have continued beyond the end of Central Africa’s rainy season, causing severe flooding which has displaced nearly 30,000 people in Cameroon’s neighbour, the Central African Republic. The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said last week that exceptionally heavy rain in South Sudan had destroyed health centres and roads, making access to food and water more difficult for nearly 1 million people.