Death toll in Ethiopia mudslides rises to 157 as search operations continue

Hundreds of people gather at the site of a mudslide in Gofa Zone, Ethiopia, where at least 146 people were killed in mudslides (Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department via AP)

At least 157 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, according to a local official.

Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator.

Children and pregnant women are among the victims (Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department via AP)

The death toll rose from 55 late on Monday to 157 by Tuesday as search operations continued in the area, said Kassahun Abayneh, head of the Gofa Zone communications office. Gofa Zone is the administrative area where the mudslides occurred.

Most of the victims were buried in a mudslide on Monday morning as rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another mudslide the previous day.

A man searches for survivors in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district, southern Ethiopia (Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department via AP)

Five people have been pulled alive from the mud, Mr Ayele said.

“There are children who have lost their entire family,” he said.

Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy season, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September.