Death toll rises to 115 in Ethiopian garbage landslide
The Horn of Africa country has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the landslide at the 50-year-old Reppi dump.
A woman mourning family members missing after a landslip at a rubbish dump in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. (March 14, 2017)
Emergency workers in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa are continuing to search for bodies following a trash dump landslide, as the death toll rose to 115 on Thursday.
A mound of trash collapsed on an informal settlement at the 50-year-old Reppi garbage dump in Koshe, Addis Ababa on Saturday evening. The Horn of Africa country on Wednesday declared three days of national mourning for victims of the disaster.
"As the number of missing people is still high, we expect to pull more bodies out today and in the coming days," an emergency worker said on Thursday.
Over half of the victims so far recovered were women. Residents of the area said at least 80 people remain unaccounted for.
City officials say they plan to resettle most of the tenants and build a waste-to-energy plant as the landslide destroyed dozens of homes.
People who live at the landfill say the cannot afford to live in the city, and that the rubbish dump offers an easy and cheap alternative. It is the capital city's only landfill site.
TRT World's Coletta Wanjohi spoke to residents in Koshe, Addis Ababa.
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