YAOUNDE (Reuters) -A wave of water released by a burst dam has killed at least 23 people in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde following heavy rains, the army’s rescue unit said on Monday.
A colonial-era dam gave way at around 16:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) local time on Sunday, releasing water from a small lake, said Assola Joseph, a local leader in the Mbankolo neighbourhood.
Residents and rescue workers were picking through the debris of rubble, broken timber, uprooted banana trees and corrugated sheeting on a steep hillside on Monday morning.
A Reuters journalist at the scene said at least five bodies had been recovered, and at least 30 houses destroyed.
(Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Estelle Shirbon)
