Burundi Church Collapse Kills Four Children1 min read
Four children have died after a church wall collapsed on them in southern Burundi on Sunday. Burundi is experiencing heavy rainfall, which reportedly caused the collapse of a church in the southern part of the country on October 15, 2023. / Photo: AP
The collapse of a church following heavy rain in southern Burundi killed at least four children and injured 15 others on Sunday, according to a local official and state media.
Heavy downpours and strong winds began to lash Kiyange at around 7am (0500GMT), local government official Esperance Inarukundo told AFP.
The bad weather “caused a lot of damage, including the collapse of the Kiyange Pentecostal Church,” where children were attending religious education classes, Inarukundo said.
“We are continuing to search the rubble and have already found the bodies of four children and 15 injured in the church,” she said, adding that local residents, the Burundi Red Cross and civil protection were helping the rescue operation.
The state-owned Burundi News Agency confirmed the death toll on X, formerly Twitter, saying that “a church wall collapsed” on the children.
Landlocked Burundi is home to 12 million people.
