Death toll in Uganda rubbish heap collapse reaches 24 as rescue teams find more victims

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The death toll from a mountain of rubbish that collapsed in the Ugandan capital rose to 24 on Monday as rescuers with excavators continued searching for victims, according to the city authority.

At least four children are among those killed by the collapse at the Kiteezi landfill Friday, police told reporters.

The collapse is believed to have been triggered by heavy rainfall. The precise details of what happened were unclear, but the city authority said there was a “structural failure in waste mass.”

Irene Nakasiita, a spokeswoman for the Uganda Red Cross, said there was no hope of rescuing more people alive.

It was not clear how many people were unaccounted for. The Kiteezi landfill is a vast rubbish dumpsite in an impoverished hillside area that receives hundreds of garbage trucks daily. The city authority has been aiming to decommission it since declaring it full years ago.

It's also a kind of no-man's land in the city of 3 million, attractive to women and children who scavenge plastic waste they aim to sell. Others have built permanent homes nearby.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation into the disaster, asking in a series of posts on the social platform X why people were living in close proximity to an unstable heap of garbage.

“Who allowed people to live near such a potentially hazardous and dangerous heap?” Museveni said, adding that effluent from the site is hazardous enough that people should not be living there.

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda )

Onlookers watch as workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Red Cross personnel carry the body of a victim at the site of a collapsed landfill in Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment after the stock market dropped sharply Thursday over his tariffs, saying, “I think it's going very well.”

“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” he said when asked about the market as he left the White House to fly to one of his Florida golf clubs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,600 points on Thursday as U.S. stocks led a worldwide selloff after the Republican president's announcement of tariffs against much of the world ignited a shock like none seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump on Wednesday announced a minimum tariff of 10% on imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union.

The announcement jolted markets worldwide, but Trump said that was to be expected. He compared the United States to a sick patient in need of surgery when asked by a reporter for his reaction to the worst stock market drop in years.

“I think it's going very well. We have an operation, like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is,” he said, an apparent reference to the selloff.

He talked about trillions of dollars in investment that is “coming into our country” from companies that want to make their products in the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

“The rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal," he said.

Later, speaking with the reporters on aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he'd be open to using tariffs to negotiate with other countries and that it would depend on whether they had something “phenomenal” to offer in return.

He maintains that other countries have been taking advantage of the U.S. for a long time and he wants it to stop.

“For many years, we’ve been at the wrong side of the ball and I’ll tell you what, I think it’s going to be unbelievable," Trump said as he left the White House to attend a Saudi-backed golf tournament at his club in Doral, Florida.

President Donald Trump steps off Marine One as he arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump steps off Marine One as he arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump, driven by his son Eric Trump, arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump, driven by his son Eric Trump, arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump, driven by his son Eric Trump, arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Secret Service Counter Snipers provide overwatch at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami, where President Donald Trump will be attending evening events. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump, driven by his son Eric Trump, arrives at Trump National Doral during the LIV Golf Miami tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)