At least 229 people killed in Ethiopia landslides

Landslides triggered by heavy rain in a remote part of Ethiopia have killed at least 229 people, reports BBC.

Quoting locals, the report said that search and rescue operations are still ongoing. It is feared that the death toll may increase.

The chief administrator of Goza zone, Dagmawi Ayele, told the BBC that the dead included both adults and children, while 10 people rescued alive were receiving treatment in hospital.

Heavy rains caused a landslide on Sunday, and as police officers, teachers and residents from nearby villages frantically continued with search-and-rescue operations on Monday, a second landslide occurred, burying them too under the mud, Mr Dagmawi said.

Markos Melese, the Gofa disaster management head, said that 229 bodies had so far been recovered.

Gofa is part of the state known as Southern Ethiopia, located around 320km (199 miles) south-west of the capital, Addis Ababa.