At least six people have been electrocuted or crushed to death as a result of heavy rains in Kinshasa, authorities in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo said Monday.
Jonas Kota, a spokesman for the Kinshasa governor's office, said the initial death toll had reached six in the centre and east of the capital, where heavy rains fell from Saturday until Monday morning.
"The victims were either crushed when the walls of their homes collapsed, or electrocuted," he added.
Brick houses collapsed or were flooded by water and mud reaching over a metre (3.3 feet) high in at least six areas of Kinshasa.
"We heard a noise, then we saw the walls (of the house) cave in. We tried to save the people but we could not get everyone out," said local resident Joseph Kimbonge, adding that people were afraid that more rainfall would casue more destruction.
Three children were crushed when the wall of their house collapsed under the pressure of flood water at around 0400 GMT Monday, local witnesses said.
An AFP journalist in Kiseno, one of the worst affected areas, saw the bodies of three children aged between five and 12 in a medical centre.
The Kalamu and Gombe rivers, which flow through these areas of the city, broke their banks for the first time in years, local residents said.
On Monday afternoon several families tried to gather together the few belongings that had been spared by the water and go to stay with friends and relatives in other parts of the city.
In Kisenso, Kalamu and Lingwala, several areas remained under water in Monday afternoon, blocking all car traffic.
In these areas, the mudslides destroyed the bamboo that had been planted in the past few years to fight erosion as the original trees had been cut down for firewood to heat the homes.
