This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
Published on October 29, 2019, a devastating landslide in west Cameroon has claimed the lives of at least 30 people, with the death toll expected to rise.
A senior local official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the situation could worsen as nightfall approaches.
"Searches are ongoing. We fear there are further deaths," the official said.
State-run Cameroon Tribune reported that at least 33 bodies had been found, while Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) initially estimated the death toll at around 30 after a score of houses collapsed.
The government has described the incident as "serious" and causing "much loss of life," without providing a specific death toll.
The landslide is believed to have been triggered by torrential rain that has affected the country and neighboring regions, including the Central African Republic and Nigeria.
Images from the scene show ramshackle houses having crumbled into the terrain, with men in hard hats digging away at piles of mud in search of survivors.
While landslides are rare in the area, the rainy season has seen similar incidents in the southwestern region, including a landslide in the coastal resort town of Limbe that killed five people in July last year.
Meanwhile, the Central African Republic is grappling with its own emergency, with ten days of torrential rain having left swathes of the country underwater and tens of thousands of people homeless.
