30 dead, several missing in eastern DRC landslide

KIGALI, Rwanda

About 30 people died while several others remain missing a day after a landslide in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said Monday.

The incident occurred in the Osso-Banyungu chiefdom in the territory of Masisi in North Kivu province, according to Fabrice Muphirwa Kubuya, head of Osso-Banyungu civil society group.

"The landslide occurred at around midday in the village of Bulwa, and the provisional toll is 30 people dead," Muphirwa told Anadolu.

"Rescue efforts continued on Monday for several people reported."

The mudslide may have been triggered by days of heavy rainfall, Muphirwa added.

Lt. Col. Guillaume Ndjike, spokesman for the North Kivu military governor, confirmed the incident.

He told reporters that authorities had learned of the tragedy with "pain and dismay" and extended condolences to the grieving families.

He, however, placed the provisional death toll at 20.

Dieudonne Dunia, a resident of Bulwa village, said that among the dead were about 20 mothers and their children who were in a stream at the foot of a hill when the landslide occurred.