KAMPALA, Uganda | Xinhua | The Ugandan police said Tuesday there are still more people trapped under the waste mass, following the landslide of the Kiteezi landfill in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, Saturday morning.
Patrick Onyango, spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police, told Xinhua by telephone that police are not yet sure how many people are still trapped with more reports about missing relatives filed to the police.
“There are still [more] people trapped down there. It’s the reason why we are still here. We can’t estimate the numbers,” Onyango said.
He said the search and rescue efforts will continue at the garbage dump located in Kawempe, one of the five divisions of Kampala.
“We are still here at the scene searching for [deceased] bodies and possibly those still alive. This operation will continue as long as the relatives say their persons are still down there, we shall be here,” he said.
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), a local humanitarian organization involved in the rescue operations, said the death toll by Tuesday morning had risen to 22.
The spokesperson of URCS Irene Nakasiita told Xinhua over the phone that the relief agency has set up makeshift shelters nearby for people whose houses were destroyed and who still need to stay around to help identify the retrieved bodies.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday called for an investigation into the incident, saying people should not have been allowed to live near the landfill. He directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to coordinate the removal of all households in the zone. ■