Overview
- A heavy-rain-triggered landslide hit Tsadqane Debre Mitmaq St. Mary Monastery during a holy-water ritual on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring seven with an unknown number still believed trapped beneath debris.
- Local officials dispatched specialists from the disaster prevention office to lead search-and-rescue operations while rescuers continue recovery work in steep, difficult terrain.
- Eleven of the dead were buried at the monastery and the remains of others were returned to their home communities, and those with serious injuries were taken to medical facilities in Debre Birhan about 70 kilometers away.
- Witnesses and officials said massive rocks released from the mountain worsened the impact at the gathering site, and experts point to oversteepened slopes and heavy rainfall as key immediate causes.
- The incident comes during the June–September Kiremt rains and follows other deadly, rain-driven slides in Ethiopia in 2024 and early 2026, highlighting how seasonal storms, rugged terrain, and limited rural infrastructure raise the risk of repeated high-casualty events and complicate identification and recovery.