Landslides have killed at least 43 people in several villages on the slopes of a mountain in eastern Uganda, newspapers reported Tuesday, dpa reported.
The death toll was rising from Monday's torrential rains, which battered Mount Elgon, pushing earth and debris off the mountain's slopes and covering parts of the villages, about 260 kilometres north-east of the capital Kampala.
According to reports, 36 bodies have so far been recovered from under the mud and boulders.
Villages in the region have for decades suffered when heavy rains cause landslides along the slopes of the Elgon, which at its peak reaches 2,560 metres and is the oldest and largest solitary extinct volcano in East Africa.
Mudslides last year left 300 people dead and displaced thousands. The Ugandan government has since started evacuating people from the mountainous region to low-lying areas, though there was some resistance from village elders.