Image copyright EPA Image caption Authorities have warned that a number of residents remain unaccounted for

At least 17 people - including children - have been killed in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, and many more injured after a huge mound of rubbish collapsed, officials say.

The pile of waste, some 15m (49ft) high, gave way in heavy rains at 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Monday.

The dump is known to be home to some of the city's poorest residents, who build makeshift camps amid the rubbish.

Five homes on the edge were also crushed in the disaster.

Rescue workers are continuing to search for survivors.

A spokesman for the emergency services, Leonilde Pelembe, warned it was likely there were more victims under the waste.

"The information we received from local authorities is that the number of people living in those houses exceeds the number of deaths recorded," Mr Pelembe said.

The Hulene district of Maputo is one of the most deprived parts of the capital. Many, including children, have little choice but to make their homes either on or next to the dump.

The dump not only provides them with food but also goods to sell, our correspondent Jose Tembe explains.

An accident waiting to happen

Analysis by Jose Tembe, BBC Africa, Maputo

The dump was here when I began living in the area in the 1980s. I saw the buildings being erected around it.

The municipal authorities have tried to clear it. Each time the rainy season comes, they remove people and give them plots of land.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Rescue workers clear rubbish as they continue to search for survivors

But when there is no rain, people move back to the rubbish dump. It is where they can be close to the city and collect things that have been dumped - things like outdated food to either eat or sell.

The government keeps on promising and promising to close the dump for good but they never do it.

They never close it, and so people continue to pile garbage in the same area.

The authorities said they had previously asked residents in the area to leave because their homes were constructed illegally, Reuters news agency reports.

However one local resident whose son was injured in the landslide, Maria Huo, said: "I live in this neighbourhood because I have nowhere to go. Had the government told me to go to another place to live, I would have left here."

The city of Maputo has experienced heavy rainfall since Sunday, which has damaged homes and flooded roads.

In the poorer suburbs of cities such as Maputo, people sometimes live on land they do not own in the hope of finding work. The dwellings can be built on land that is unsafe.</s>Heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique's capital overnight, killing 17 people who were buried by debris.

Rescuers search for survivors at the collapse of a garbage mound in Maputo, Mozambique.

Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo, and a search was underway.

The garbage in the poor, densely populated area where the disaster happened rose to the height of a three-story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Lusa and Radio Mocambique both reported 17 deaths. Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

"The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences," Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa. Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.</s>People watch as rescuers search for bodies of victims buried under collapsed garbage piles in Maputo, Mozambique on Feb. 19, 2018. Antonio Silva / EPA

Twelve people died, Lusa reported. Radio Mocambique put the death toll at 17. Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

“The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences,” Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa. Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.

Residents stand next to an excavator working at the site of a dump collapse in Maputo, Mozambique on Feb. 19, 2018. Mauro Vombe / AFP – Getty Images</s>Johannesburg - Heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique's capital on Monday, killing as many as 17 people who were buried by debris.

Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo, and a search was underway. The garbage in the poor, densely populated area where the disaster happened rose to the height of a three-story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Twelve people died, Lusa reported. Radio Mocambique put the death toll at 17. Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

"The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences," Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa. Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news from around the continent by subscribing to our FREE newsletter, Hello Africa.</s>Rescuers recover a body as they search for survivors at the collapse of a garbage mound in Maputo, Mozambique, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Mozambican media say at least 17 people died when heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of the mound garbage. (AP Photo/Ferhat Momade)

JOHANNESBURG — Heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique's capital on Monday, killing as many as 17 people who were buried by debris.

Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo, and a search was underway. The garbage in the poor, densely populated area where the disaster happened rose to the height of a three-story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Twelve people died, Lusa reported. Radio Mocambique put the death toll at 17. Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

"The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences," Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa. Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.</s>Mozambican media say at least 17 people died when heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique's capital, Maputo.

Radio Mocambique reported Monday that rescue workers believe more bodies could be buried in the debris at the Hulene garbage dump.

It said five houses were buried in the disaster and that some families in the area have fled their homes for fear of another collapse.</s>At least 17 people were killed and several others were injured when a massive garbage mound partially collapsed in Mozambique’s capital Monday after heavy rains fell on Maputo, local media reported.

Rescue workers believe there may be more bodies buried in the garbage dump wreckage located in an impoverished neighborhood of Hulene, Radio Mocambique reported.

Five houses were buried by the natural disaster thus far, while many families have fled their homes for fear of another collapse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Feb. 19 (UPI) -- At least 17 people were killed after rain triggered a mudslide at a garbage dump in Maputo, Mozambique, on Monday.

Leonilde Pelembe, the spokesperson of Mozambique National Service of Public Safety, said emergency workers in the city were combing through the garbage in search of missing people.

"As the number of missing people is still high, we expect to pull more bodies out today and in the coming days," Pelembe said Monday.

Officials said the mudslide buried more than seven houses while families were sleeping, and more than 100 people are missing.

"Up to now 17 dead bodies were recovered," Despedida Rita, a councillor for Ka Mavota Municipal District, said. "We fear more might be unaccounted for."

Families living close to the dump have fled from their homes in fear of another mudslide.

The nearly 50-foot high Hulene dump is the only garbage dump for Maputo's 3.5 million people.</s>Torrential rains sparked the partial collapse of a 50-foot high mountain of garbage in Mozambique’s capital Monday, killing at least 17 people, and possibly trapping others under debris, according to reports.

A search began shortly after the garbage gave way, as officials believe more bodies were submerged under the Hulene garbage dump outside of Maputo, the Associated Press reported.

The garbage pile accumulated to the size of a three-story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

"The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences," Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa.

"Up to now, 17 dead bodies were recovered," said Despedida Rita, a counselor for the Ka Mavota Municipal District. "We fear more might be unaccounted for so we will keep searching for bodies buried underneath the rubbish pile."

Twelve people died, Lusa said. But Radio Mocambique logged the death toll at 17, according to Fox News. The mound reportedly destroyed five homes.

Displaced Maputo resident Maria Huo told BBC News that the accident also injured her son.

"I live in this neighborhood because I have nowhere to go" she said. "Had the government told me to go to another place to live, I would have left here."

The area, which is densely populated and lacking resources, has seen heavy rain and flooding since Sunday, ​BBC reported.

Authorities have warned residents in the past to evacuate their homes, which were illegally built, according to Reuters.

Residents frequent the Hulene garbage dump, looking for food and things to sell. Municipal officials have engaged in talks to have the site shut down.</s>As many as 17 people have died after heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of rubbish in Mozambique’s capital.

Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo, and a search is under way.

The refuse in the poor, densely populated area had risen to the height of a three-storey building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, said: “The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences.”

Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.
A collapse at a garbage dump in Mozambique kills at least 17 people.