At least six people have died and three others have been injured due to a massive mudslide that has occurred in Nyakabondo I, on Gasenyi hill in Mutimbuzi Commune of Bujumbura Province, this 16 March.
Trucks were used to remove victims from the mudslide
The victims were performing their daily activities in the channeling work of Gasenyi River, at the bottom of National Road N0 1.
“It was around 7:00 am when we tried to move stones under the mountain”, says Janvier Bucumi, one of the employees of the construction enterprise- ECBROH that does the channeling work. He says he suddenly heard the noise during a massive mudslide and then six of his colleagues disappeared.
At 9:35 minutes, two dead people were already evacuated and the three injured were taken to “MSF” hospital while four others remained under the mudslide. “We think that one of the causes of the massive mudslide is the heavy rain that fell yesterday,” he says.
Red Cross and civil protection agents intervened to evacuate the victims. It was not an easy task though different trucks were used to save the victims.
Jean Bosco Ntunzwenimana, Minister of Public Works says the incident sometimes occurs at work, fortunately, all employees are insured. “ The enterprise will compensate the victims’ families”.
He says the channeling work is supported by the World Bank following the last incident that occurred in Gasenyi River in February 2014 and caused hundreds of deaths. He calls on local residents to plant trees to protect the Gasenyi River that has become a threat to the locality.
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