Weeping families packed homes in a southern remote part of Ethiopia on Friday to bid farewell to relatives killed following a devastating landslide, as authorities announced three days of mourning. It is already the deadliest landslide on record in the Horn of Africa nation with rescuers continuing the grim search for bodies. "As more rain is expected, we should not be surprised to see more of these kinds of emergencies hitting Ethiopia," OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said. A few kilometres from the hillside that came crashing down on the villagers, distraught families washed the bodies of the victims clawed from the mounds of earth, before wrapping them with shawls ahead of the burial ceremony. - Aid operation 'underway' -The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, earlier on Friday, said that humanitarian aid and rehabilitation was "well underway" in the region.

Source: Ethiopian News July 26, 2024 16:33 UTC