The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has risen sharply to 157 and the number could increase further, a government official said on Tuesday.
A landslide buried people in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state, then a second one engulfed others who had gathered to help on Monday morning, officials said.
"Searching still going on and there are bodies that are yet to be recovered. The area is very challenging," Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gof a Zone, told Reuters by phone.
"We have so far recovered 157 bodies from two villages ... We believe the number will increase."
Seasonal rains
On Monday, a official said at least 50 people had died and children and police officers were among the dead.
Gofa zone is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and located north of the Maze National Park.
The South Ethiopia regional state has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN's humanitarian response agency OCHA.
The southern region area has experienced tragic landslides previously, with at least 32 people killed in 2018 after two separate landslides within a week of each other.
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