Uganda Church Roof Collapse Kills 21
Thursday, March 9, 2006 (12:00 am)
KAMPALA, UGANDA (BosNewsLife) — At least 21 people were killed and over 20 others injured when the roof of a church in the Ugandan capital Kampala collapsed during an evangelical worship service late Wednesday, March 8, police said.
Police spokesman Assuman Mugenyi told reporters that 21 bodies had so far been recovered from the wreckage of the City of the Lord born-again church in the northern suburb of Kalerwe.
The accident in the northern Kalerwe district occurred during heavy rains, investigators reported. "More than 20 others were critically injured," he added. It was not immediately clear how many more worshippers might be trapped under the rubble, but police rescue teams and the fire brigade were reportedly at the scene.
At least two-thirds of Uganda's 27 million people are estimated to be Christians. A growing number attend evangelical churches that have sprung up across the east African country in recent years, observers say.
SLUM AREA
The City of the Lord church is located in a slum area where there is apparently no electric ower complicating the rescue operations.
Witnesses coming out of the slum told journalists that people had burned plastic chairs to provide light to help rescuers digging through the wreckage. But the chairs had all been burned and rescuers had to give up the search until dawn, The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted witnesses as saying.
The accident occurred at about 1900 local time (1600 UTC), police told media. (With reports from Uganda)
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