Rescue workers have found 50 bodies of victims in a landslide on Monday night in a hilly area in eastern Uganda, a Uganda Red Cross (URC) spokesperson said here on Tuesday.

 

Catherine Ntabadde, the spokesperson of URC, told Xinhua on telephone that the government has sent troops to assist the rescue operation currently dominated by police and civilians.

 

According to her, about 350 people are feared dead in the accident while the district official earlier put it at 120.

 

The landslide following torrential rains occurred at about 21: 00 PM, local time (1800 GMT) on Monday, destroying 85 homesteads at Nametsi village, Bukalasa sub-county, Bududa district.

 

Wanjusi Wasieba, the Bududa Resident District Commissioner said the rescue operation is being hampered by the poor terrain in the area which is barely accessible by vehicles.

 

The accident is the worst in recent years as continuous torrential rains were experienced in the beginning of the current rainy season staring in March in parts of the country, especially in the flood-prone eastern Uganda.

 

Experts have warned that global climate change has been changing the rainfall pattern in the East African country from regular and moderate to more unexpected and extreme, raising risks of natural disasters like floods, landslides and prolonged draught.