Kampala — At least 20 UPDF soldiers deployed to retrieve the bodies of people buried by the landslide in Bududa have fallen sick. The soldiers have reportedly contracted diarrhoea. Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta attributes the outbreak to drinking unsafe water.

Medical officials had earlier warned of an epidemic outbreak in the landslide-hit area. Senior health ministry chiefs arrived in Bududa with a consignment of drugs for the sick soldiers. "They will contain the outbreak," Oketta said, stressing that it was not cholera.

Six more bodies were yesterday recovered after intensive digging by UPDF soldiers.

"The bodies were decomposed, swollen and the stomachs had burst," Oketta remarked. "The relatives identified them by the clothes and took them for burial."

Local leaders said 365 people were missing after the landslide. Some 93 bodies have been recovered one week after disaster struck. Only 17 people escaped the mud death trap. They are nursing various injuries in Bududa Hospital.

The army says it will only halt the hunt for bodies when the authorities tell them to stop. Bududa district chairman, Wilson Watira, said on Sunday he could not call for a stop because the residents still hope the bodies of their beloved ones can be found.

"They have camped at the site and refuse to leave," he told a meeting at the district headquarters.

A UPDF spokesperson, Capt. Henry Obbo, said heavy rains were hampering the operation.

Meanwhile, five IDPs were arrested for stealing relief items, Police commander Joel Aguma said.