At least 18 dead after landfill site collapses in Uganda’s capital Kampala

Fourteen other people were injured when the Kiteezi landfill, which serves as a waste disposal site for much of Kampala, collapsed late Friday.

Kampala:  A vast landfill site in the Ugandan capital collapsed, killing at least 18 people, the Red Cross said.

Fourteen other people were injured when the Kiteezi landfill, which serves as a waste disposal site for much of Kampala, collapsed late Friday. At least two of the dead were children, Kampala Capital City Authority said in a statement.

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The collapse is believed to have been triggered by heavy rainfall. The precise details of what happened were unclear, but the city authority said there was a “structural failure in waste mass”.

Irene Nakasiita, a spokeswoman for the Uganda Red Cross, said the toll reached 18 after more bodies were retrieved from the scene Sunday.

“The assessment is not yet completed,” she said, adding that rainfall was slowing the efforts of rescue teams digging through heaps of trash.

The Kiteezi landfill is on a steep slope in an impoverished part of the city. Women and children who scavenge plastic waste for income frequently gather there, and some homes have been built close to the landfill.