'Mud swallowed my kids'

LANDSLIDE: MOM RECALLS HORROR OF LOSING FOUR

- Kencho Shacha Gozdi

Second wave burying rescuers sends toll soaring.

Survivor Tseganesh Obole, her voice hoarse, recalled the deadly deluge of red mud that swept down from a hill in a remote area of southern Ethiopia this week, engulfing her and her six children.

"I was swallowed by a mudslide along with many people, including my children," she said, clutching her breast as her family stood in shock nearby.

Her brother, Dawit, clawed through the sodden soil to get her out.

"But four of my children died and remained buried in the mud," the 30 year old said.

And Obole's husband is still among those missing, presumed buried somewhere in the earth.

Her family is among the thousands of people affected in the deadliest landslide so far recorded in the country, which is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters.