Landslide in Algerian Slum Kills at Least 12, Destroys 130 Shanties
A wall of rain-soaked earth crashed through a hillside slum, killing at least 12 people and injuring 46, officials said. Rescue crews gingerly looked for survivors Sunday.
The slide late Saturday night in Oran destroyed the shanties of 130 families, and survivors were evacuated to tent camps in other areas of the city, Algeria’s main western port.
Officials said the homes of wood scraps and corrugated metal were “illegal constructions,” built without foundations on the unstable hillside of Ras el Ain, a poor neighborhood.
Heavy rain in recent days was blamed for triggering the slide.
The official APS news agency said 12 bodies were found and that 21 children were among the 46 injured. The agency earlier reported 15 dead and 62 injured.
Witnesses said several people were still believed trapped under the soil and wrecked homes, but rescuers were hampered by the danger of new slides.
About 100 firemen and other rescue workers used shovels to pick through the aftermath.
Survivors protested that they had earlier urged authorities to take measures to firm up the hillside, but that no action was taken.
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