In Yaoundé, this October 8, 2023, after several days of torrential rain, a landslide caused at least six deaths according to a very provisional report. In the Mbankolo district, following the rupture of a water reservoir, several dozen homes were swept away. On site, the residents are struggling between pain and shock following this tragedy.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Yaoundé, Richard Onanena
At Cameroon, the results are very provisional given the damage in the Mbankolo district in Yaoundé. It currently stands at at least 6 deaths after the torrential rains of the last three days.
The water continued to fall this Sunday, October 8 and this caused the rupture of a water reservoir. Several dozen homes were swept away.
On site, sitting on the ground, a few meters from the landslide site, her body covered in mud, a lady extracted from the rubble is inconsolable. She screams her pain about ” all [ses] children “.
The incident occurred around 7 p.m. According to a local resident, it was a wall erected to block the passage of water which gave way: “ There was a lake, a very old lake. There is a gentleman who blocked this lake because the lake passed his house, he prevented the lake from continuing to free itself. There was rain so it let go, it cracked. I followed the noise, and it destroyed at least 200 houses. »
“ People running up from everywhere in panic »
Despite the darkness of the night, we can see that the water has washed away almost all of the homes built in this risky area. Brandon was one of the first to arrive on site: “ The sound of the wall breaking let me know something had happened. People are just screaming. The first images I saw were people running up from everywhere in panic. The second image I saw was a woman lying dead. »
Until late at night, dozens of people continued to search the rubble looking for survivors: “ We’ve been looking for almost four hours, we don’t know. »