More than 24 hours after the landslide in Bafoussam, over 42 bodies are said to have been pulled out of the rubble.
4 pregnant woman are among those who died in the catastrophe late Monday October 28, 2019 in Ngouachié, Bafoussam.
While individuals and groups have been taking to social media to express their grief and solidarity with the victims, state officials have as usual been making rounds to the site.
Speaking earlier Tuesday October 30, 2019, West governor, Awah Fonka Augustine said “the landslide happened at about 11pm. Following the landslide, 11 houses were completely buried.”
“About 50 persons are missing … At the moment, intervention is still going on to retrieve the corpses of those that disappeared” he added. The retrieved corpses have been taken to the regional Hospital mortuary.
Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji and Housing and Urban Development minister, Celestine Ketcha have visited the incident site.
In an outing Tuesday evening, President Paul Biya addressed a message of condolence to the bereaved families.
He also expressed his desire to see the injured victims regain consciousness and health soonest.
Critics have however put the blame on the state, explaining that the affected families were not even supposed to be permitted to build there. According to Paddy Asanga, the landslide shows the failure of government policy on housing. on where and where not
On Equinoxe Television’s 6pm English News Tuesday October 29th 2019, Paddy Asanga stated that if the government of Cameroon was proactive, the disaster would have been prevented.
With all the happenings, some have raised eyebrows as to the origin of the victims of the disaster, some of whom are said to be Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs escaping from the conflict in the Anglophone regions of the country. The crisis has already left thousands dead and more displaced in and out of the country, with towns close to the regions like Bafoussam and Douala hosting the most of the IDPs.
The landslide it should be noted is not the first of its kind. A heavy down pour on July 24, it should be recalled resulted to a landslide in the Mbonjo neighbourhood in down beach Limbe, killing at least five persons and injuring many others. The double landslide is said to have occurred around 7 am, at the Manga hill in Mbonjo, along the Man’o war bay road in Limbe III.
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