Catholic Archbishop in Cameroon Expresses “spiritual closeness” with Landslide Victims

Yaounde, 09 October, 2023 / 9:30 PM

The Archbishop of Yaoundé Archdiocese in Cameroon has expressed his “spiritual closeness” with those affected by the Sunday, October 8 fatal landslide in the capital city of the Central African nation.

At least 30 people died and 17 others were injured after a landslide triggered by heavy rains destroyed parts of the Mbankolo neighborhood, some 25 km from Yaoundé, BBC News reported. 

Some homes, built on slopes, collapsed and banana trees were uprooted as the Mefou River burst its banks. Bodies of the victims have been laid at the Yaounde Central Hospital mortuary while the injured were rushed to various hospitals.

In a statement issued Monday, October 9, Archbishop Jean Mbarga says he learned with “consternation the tragedy that occurred in the Mbankolo neighborhood following a landslide.”

“I join the entire population of the Yaoundé 2 municipality in offering my condolences to all the bereaved families,” Archbishop Mbarga says.

He reassures families of the victims of the tragedy of his “spiritual closeness and entrusts them to the maternal intercession of Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, so that the souls of the deceased may rest in peace.”

The Cameroonian Catholic Archbishop invites “all Christians in the Archdiocese of Yaoundé to pray for the comfort of the bereaved families.”

On Monday, October 9, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, and his counterpart of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Kecha Courtes, reportedly visited the site of the incident to assess the situation and provide solace to victims.

The disaster comes almost a year after at least 14 people died in another landslide in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaoundé.