Fourteen dead, dozens injured in Cameroon landslide

Not less than 14 people who were attending a funeral were killed while several others injured in a landslide in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

Witnesses confirmed that dozens of people were attending a funeral on a soccer pitch at the base of a 20-metre high soil embankment, which collapsed on top of them.

Many people were still missing as rescue crews dug through the rubble with flashlights.

Centre Regional Governor Naseri Paul Bea told the Cameroonian national broadcaster that the search for survivors was continuing into the night.

The governor described the area where the landslide took place in the Damas neighbourhood of Yaounde as a “very dangerous spot,” and he encouraged people to leave before authorities come in to clear it.

Yaounde is one of the wettest cities in Africa and is made of dozens of steep, shack-lined hills.

Heavy rains have triggered several devastating floods throughout the country this year, weakening infrastructure and displacing thousands.