At least four dead and dozens missing in Cameroon after landslide

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — At least four people are dead and more than 50 are missing in western Cameroon after three passenger buses and several road workers were caught in a landslide, authorities said Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall weakened the soil and led to the landslide on Tuesday, Cameroon’s Public Works Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi said after visiting the disaster site, a stretch of highway linking Dschang in Cameroon’s western region with the country’s economic capital. country, Douala. .

Only four bodies have been recovered from the rubble, while dozens of others remain buried in the rubble, he added.

“I have asked that rescued victims be taken to the morgue, while survivors should be given full care so that they can be quickly relieved of their pain,” Djoumessi said.

The disaster comes as West Africa suffered some of its worst flooding in decades this year, killing more than a thousand people and displacing hundreds of thousands across the region.

“Earth collapse has become common in Cameroon and the world in recent months and roads in these regions are dilapidated,” said Western Region Governor Augustin Awa Fonka.

The Minister of Public Works blamed the heavy rain that caused the landslide on climate change.

Although Africa is responsible for a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is among the regions most vulnerable to extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization said earlier this year.