At least 15 dead in east DR Congo landslides

The landslides occurred overnight Tuesday in Bukavu, a city of an estimated two million people in South Kivu province, according to the officials.

A staff member at Bukavu provincial hospital, who requested anonymity, told AFP that 15 dead bodies had come in from across the city after the downpour.

Town hall spokesman Joseph Mugisho Zihalirwa gave a higher toll, saying that at least 19 people had been killed and five injured in one district alone -- including 11 members of the same family swept away by a river that burst its banks.

Albert Migabo Nyagaza, a local official and a pastor, said that a wall collapsed on worshippers during a church service, killing five people.

He added that three other people were swept away in flooding.

Mao Ishikitilo, a territorial administrator south of Bukavu, said that about 20 people had died in his area, without giving further details.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll from the landslides.

The DRC is one of the world's poorest nations, despite its immense mineral wealth.

It is regularly hit by disasters such as floods and landslides, in part due to urban overcrowding, dilapidated infrastructure and shoddy house construction.

On Tuesday, torrential rains triggered landslides in the city of Kananga in the centre of the country, killing at least 22 people.