At least 20 killed as landslide hits Congo villagers cleaning clothes in mountain stream

Goma — A landslide killed at least 20 people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, residents and local officials in the region said. The disaster occurred late Sunday morning in the village of Bulwa, in North Kivu’s Masisi territory, according to Chadrack Mbukanirwa Ndibanja, one of the village leaders.

“Following this tragic incident, 20 people… lost their lives and others are missing for which search efforts are ongoing,” a spokesperson for the North Kivu governor said in a statement on Monday.

Alphonse Mushesha Mihingano, a local administrator, said around 25 mothers, with their children, had been doing laundry in a stream at the foot of a mountain when ground gave way above, burying some of them.

Bulwa resident Musafiri Balume gave a similar account, saying he had lost a sister in the landslide, which occurred during heavy rains.

 Every year during the rainy season, roads, houses, schools, shops, and other buildings — along with people — are swept away or buried by landslides in the country, which has been plagued by anarchic urbanization and a lack of infrastructure maintenance.