death toll - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Death toll in South Africa riots rises to 337

THE death toll from recent riots in South Africa has risen to 337, with 258 people killed in KwaZulu-Natal and 79 in Gauteng, the two provinces where the violence was concentrated. The new figures were announced by Khumbuzo Ntshaveni, the acting Minister in the Presidency, at a media briefing. The death toll was revised up from the 276 that was announced on Wednesday. The unrest started as protests over former president Jacob Zuma's jailing two weeks ago in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. But it quickly escalated into arson and looting and spread to Gauteng province where the biggest city…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

‘It’s terrifying’: Merkel shaken as flood deaths rise to 188 in Europe

WORLD

RALPH BROCK and ROMANA FUESSEL GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the flooding that has devastated parts of Europe as "terrifying" after the death toll across the region rose to 188 and a district of Bavaria was battered by the extreme weather. Merkel promised swift financial aid after visiting one of the areas worst affected by the record rainfall and floods that have killed at least 157 in Germany alone in recent days, in the country's worst natural disaster in almost six decades. She also said governments would have to get better and faster in their efforts to tackle the…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Floodwaters still rising in western Europe with death toll over 110

WORLD

MARTIN SCHLICHT and DAVID SAHL MORE than 1,000 people were missing in flood-stricken regions of western Germany and Belgium on Friday, where waters were still rising with the death toll already well over 100 and communications in some areas cut. Entire communities lay in ruins after swollen rivers swept through towns and villages in the western German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Belgium as well as the Netherlands. "It was terrible not to able to help people," Frank Thel, a resident of Schuld in Rhineland-Palatinate, told Reuters in front of a pile of rubble. "They were waving at us…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Anger mounts after 92 die in fire on Iraq COVID ward

WORLD

AHMED RASHEED and MAHER AL-SAIH THE death toll from a fire that tore through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 92, health officials said, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there. More than 100 people were injured in the blaze on Monday night in Nassiriya, officials said. An investigation showed the fire began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, police and civil defence authorities said. It was Iraq's second such tragedy in three months, and the country's president on Tuesday blamed corruption for…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

2nd Florida building evacuated as death toll rises to 22

WORLD

KATANGA JOHNSON and FRANCISCO ALVARADO THE death toll rose to 22 on Friday from the collapse of a Florida condominium tower after the remains of four more victims were found in the rubble, and local officials ordered a second residential complex evacuated after deeming it unsafe. All residents of the second building, Crestview Towers, were told to leave immediately after engineers found serious concrete and electrical problems, said Arthur Sorey, city manager for North Miami Beach. The move was considered urgent due to the approach of Hurricane Isla, which is forecast to hit Florida as early as Monday. The building's…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Death toll of Burkina Faso attack reaches 160

NEWS

ON the night of Friday 4th June, a group of unidentified armed men stormed the village of Solhan in the north of Burkina Faso, shooting indiscriminately, looting the market and burning homes. A report by RFI, the French radio station said there could have been as many as 200 attackers by some accounts of survivors. Security sources confirmed children were targeted, with 7 minors killed according to official figures. Now, the total number of dead stands at, at least 160 – a massacre. The extent of the carnage is still unknown as figures for the dead and injured continue to…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Death toll in Ethiopia may be 200’

NEWS

THE death toll in clashes this month between Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, in the northern Amhara region may be as high as 200, a senior official said yesterday, up from previous reports of at least 50. Residents and officials in Oromiya Special Zone, an area in Amhara with a majority Oromo population, and the town of Ataye said there were deadly clashes in the area on April 16. "According to information we got from people who are displaced, we estimate that up to 200 people might have died from both zones, but we still need…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt revises death toll from train crash

NEWS

THE death toll from a collision of two trains in central Egypt on Friday has been revised to 19, from 32, Egypt's health minister said in a statement yesterday. The number of people injured went up to 185 from 165. Egypt's public prosecutor's office said it had ordered an investigation into the crash, which took place close to the Nile-side town of Tahta, about 365 km (230 miles) south of Cairo.

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia says COVID spread ‘very dangerous’ with new curbs expected

COVID-19

TUNISIA says that the coronavirus pandemic had become "very dangerous" with 2,125 new infections and 52 deaths recorded in the past 48 hours, and new restrictions were expected to be announced within hours. The total death toll now exceeds 1,150 with 55,000 cases and medical sources told Reuters intensive care units in most state hospitals had reached maximum capacity. Health Ministry spokeswoman Nassaf ben Alaya said that the situation had become "very dangerous". Ministry official Faisal ben Saleh told reporters that the number of deaths was expected to double next month. New curbs were expected, but no full lockdown, he…