Death Toll Rises to 20 After Landfill Collapse in Uganda, Search Continues

The death toll from a massive landfill collapse in Uganda’s capital Kampala has risen to 20, with at least four people still missing, according to CBS News, citing Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.

The collapse, which occurred on Friday, is believed to have been triggered by heavy rainfall, leading to a “structural failure in waste mass.”

The Kiteezi landfill, serving as a waste disposal site for much of Kampala, claimed the lives of at least two children and injured 14 others.

The Prime Minister’s wrote on X:

Day 2 of Kiteezi Land Fill Operation as at 6.30pm;
– Death toll 20.
– No new survivors rescued today.
– Search 4 missing bodies continues.
– Coordination of all stakeholders successfully ongoing.

The Ugandan Red Cross, which has been conducting rescue efforts, reports that heavy rainfall is hampering search and recovery operations. President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into the incident, questioning the safety of allowing people to live near the landfill and demanding answers as to why a planned relocation of the site has not been implemented since 2016.