14 People Die In Cameroon Landslide

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – At least 14 people Sunday died from a landslide that occurred during a funeral ceremony in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Al Jazeera reported that the number of confirmed death was given by the regional governor, Naseri Bea, as rescuers continue to search for dozens of others who remain missing.

Mr Bea described the area where the landslide occurred as a “very dangerous spot.” He encouraged people to stay away from the Damas district in Yaounde’s eastern outskirts.

According to Al Jazeera, the disaster occurred as people gathered on a football pitch at the base of a 20-metre-high soil embankment.
Landslides occur relatively frequently in Cameroon but are rarely as deadly as Sunday’s incident in Yaounde.

In May 2021, 27 miners died in a landslide that led to the deportation of over 1,000 illegal miners.

Also, 43 people were killed in the western city of Bafoussam in 2019 when a landslide triggered by heavy rains swept away a dozen precarious dwellings built on the side of a hill.

Journal of African Earth Sciences also recorded a 2001 landslide that occurred on volcanic cones in Limbe killing 24 people.