Death toll rises to 11 after landslide in Cameroon

Yaounde, Nov 9 (IANS) The death toll from a rain-triggered landslide in Cameroon's West Region has risen to 11, local authorities said.

"We recovered seven corpses today (Friday) making a total of 11. Also, heavy (road) equipment has been removed from the debris. (Excavation) exercise continues," West Region Governor Augustine Fonka Awa told Xinhua, adding that the bodies recovered were in an "advanced state of decomposition".

Four bodies were initially recovered on Tuesday after three passenger buses, road equipment, and several workers were buried in the landslide on a steep hill in La Falaise, near Dschang Town. Over 50 people are feared still trapped in the rubble, Xinhua news agency reported.

"They have recovered the body of my mother. We are still waiting for that of my grandmother and brother who are still in the rubble," Emmeline Wakam, who has been waiting for news of her relatives for five days, told Xinhua by phone.

Recent torrential rains have battered parts of the Central African country, causing extensive flooding and landslides. Residents near the steep road linking the commercial hub of Douala to the region have long warned of landslide risks along the winding route.

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