50 die as heavy rains flood Burundi capital

BUJUMBURA

More than 50 people were killed after heavy rains caused severe flooding in several suburbs of Burundian capital Bujumbura.

"The provisional death toll stands at more than 50," Public Security Minister Gabriel Nizigama told reporters while touring affected areas on Monday.

Flooding in three rivers in the northern suburbs of Bujumbura swept away homes and other infrastructure on the riverbanks.

One of the most affected areas is Gatunguru in the urban commune of Kamenge in the north of Bujumbura, where 42 people, mostly children, died in the flooding.

The Burundi Red Cross, which is aiding in the evacuation of victims, expects the death toll to rise further.

"We're still hunting for victims in the rubble of houses and mud," Burundi Red Cross spokesman Alexis Manirakiza told Anadolu Agency.

He said more than 70 people had been sent to two hospitals in Bujumbura and a health center north of the capital. 

At Roi Khaled Hospital, one of Bujumbura's main hospitals, the injured lay in a courtyard awaiting treatment.

Others looked desperately for missing relatives.

"We can't tell the exact number of injured we have received; many were sent straight away to pediatrics or genecology wards," one doctor at the emergency ward told AA while running to attend to the wounded.

Nightmare

Bambarukontari Selenie, a local resident, says she had been asleep when water began pouring into her home.

She managed to cling to a tree outside, but her young daughter was swept away by the torrent.

"Up to now, I don't know if she's is dead or alive," Selenie told AA tearfully.

Venernad Nimbona, another local, had one of his teenage girls injured in the flooding.

The whereabouts of his two grandsons, meanwhile, remain unknown.

The Red Cross says it is assessing the damage, stressing the need to assist thousands rendered homeless by the flooding.

"It's a disaster, but the government will do all that is possible to assist the victims," said Minister Nizigama.

The government, meanwhile, has pledged to pay the hospital bills of all of the victims and provide food-aid to anyone who lost their home.

"There are many victims and the hospital morgues cannot cater to all the bodies," added the minister.

"That's why we decided to organize the burial today, and the government will pay for the funeral service."

Bujumbura is accustomed to seasonal flooding, but it was the first time for heavy rainfall to leave the entire country in a state of mourning.

englishnews@aa.com.tr