Landslide at Ethiopian Garbage Dump Kills At Least 50 People

A massive landfill in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa collapsed in a landslide over the weekend, killing at least 50 people and burying dozens of homes in one of the city’s largest informal settlements, several news outlets reported.

The collapse happened at the Koshe landfill, which has served as the capital city’s primary garbage dump for more than 50 years and accumulates an estimated 300,000 tons of trash each year. Hundreds of people live on or around the site in makeshift homes, many of them scavenging the landfill for items to re-sell, such as metals and plastics. Others live there because of the low rents, The New York Times reported.

Rescue crews are still searching for survivors and officials are investigating what caused the dump to collapse. They are also working to relocate residents to other neighborhoods.