At least 15 people, mainly women and children, have been reported dead in a landslide in a Western Ugandan town after the area was battered by heavy rains on Wednesday.

The disaster in the town of Kasese on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo has left an unknown number of people missing and wiped out homes.

The Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita said in a briefing to Newsmen that ‘’15 bodies now. The majority are women and children,’’

“Response action teams are still on the ground and the rescue mission is still ongoing.”

Nakasiita said the exact number of missing are still unknown, but the six people that were injured have been taken to Hospital.

Gruesome photographs shared by the Red Cross showed some bodies stuck under collapsed houses and at least one body carried away by the fast-flowing water.

Meanwhile heavy rains in the neighbouring district of Bundibugyo killed three people last Friday and left several injured.

At least 22 people were killed in the Eastern Ugandan town of Mbale after flash floods hit at the end of July, leading to mud-slides that inflicted wide-spread damage and left hundreds of residents homeless.

In 2020 alone, eight people died in Kasese after heavy rains caused a river to overflow its banks.