17 dead in Uganda garbage heap collapse

KAMPALA, Uganda

At least 17 bodies have been retrieved from a heap of garbage in Uganda's capital that tragically buried homes and livestock early on Saturday.

Fourteen survivors have been rescued so far as search and rescue efforts continue by local residents, the Uganda Red Cross, police, the National Roads Authority, and Kampala Capital City Authority, said Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, Fred Onyango.

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Inspector General of the Government to "expeditiously investigate" circumstances under which a heap of garbage buried people and injured several others.

Museveni said on Saturday that he had directed the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to coordinate the removal of all households from the danger zone, in addition to ensuring the recovery, if possible, of people still buried under the garbage.

"The first question that comes to mind is, 'Who allowed people to live near such a potentially hazardous and dangerous heap?" the president said in a statement posted on X. Museveni also said he had directed the country's military special forces to reinforce the search and rescue team.

City authorities in Kampala added that government and Red Cross personnel were actively searching the site.

"Our teams, along with other government agencies are on ground taking the necessary measures to ensure the area is secure and to prevent any further incidents," it said.

The Kampala Capital City Authority said a "structural failure in waste mass" resulted in the collapse of a section of the landfill.

Authorities said more bodies could be trapped under the garbage mass that collapsed after torrential rains.

Established in 1996, Kiteezi landfill is a dumpsite north of Kampala where all garbage is collected in the capital city. Residents have long expressed concern about the hazardous waste that had become a towering hill.