Death toll from Ethiopian landslides jumps to 229, official says

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has jumped to 229 and could rise further as the search for survivors and casualties continued into a second day, a government official said on Tuesday.

Following heavy rain a landslide buried people in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state on Sunday night, then a second one engulfed others who had gathered to help on Monday morning.

"I don't know when it will stop. We are still recovering bodies," Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gofa Zone, told Reuters by phone.

"We are still digging."

On Monday an official said at least 50 people had died and children and police officers were among the dead.

Footage shared by the local administration showed people digging up bodies with shovels and bare hands.

"The death toll surged after the people who came to rescue also got trapped," said Gofa district administrator Misikir Mitiku. "It is a very sad incident."

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he was deeply saddened by the terrible loss of life, and that federal officials had been deployed to reduce the impact of the disaster.

"We stand in strong solidarity with the people and Government of Ethiopia as rescue efforts continue to find the missing and assist the displaced," African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on the social media platform X.

The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, said he was thinking of all the families affected and that a WHO team had been sent to support immediate health needs.

"As the region continues to face the harsh impacts of climate change, we urge everyone to stay vigilant and follow safety protocols to protect lives and prevent further tragedies," said Workneh Gebeyehu, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; writing by George Obulutsa and Hereward Holland; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Alexandra Hudson)