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At least 146 killed in mudslides in southern Ethiopia

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Hundreds of people gather at the site of a mudslide in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district, Gofa Zone, southern Ethiopia.
Hundreds of people gather at the site of a mudslide in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district, Gofa Zone, southern Ethiopia. -  Copyright  Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department via AP
Copyright Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department via AP
By Euronews with AP
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The death toll rose from 55 on Monday to 146 on Tuesday as search operations continue in the area.

At least 146 people have died in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia, which has been hit with heavy rainfall.

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Young children and pregnant women were among the victims in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district in the Gofa Zone of southern Ethiopia, according to a local administrator.

The death toll rose as search operations continued in the area, said Kassahun Abayneh, head of communications office in Gofa Zone, the 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.

At least five people have been pulled alive from the mud, Ayele said.

A man searches for survivors at the site of a mudslide in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district, Gofa Zone, southern Ethiopia.
A man searches for survivors at the site of a mudslide in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district, Gofa Zone, southern Ethiopia. Isayas Churga/Gofa Zone Government Communication Affairs Department

"There are children who are hugging corpses, having lost their entire family, including mother, father, brother and sister, due to the accident," he said.

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

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