SUDANESE authorities said on Thursday that they had recovered and buried the bodies of hundreds of people who died in a landslide over the weekend in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

Mujib al-Rahman al-Zubair, head of the Civil Authority in the Liberated Territories, said in a video address that the authority, along with help from local aid workers, was able to reach 375 bodies, but the remaining bodies remain trapped underground.

“May the victims of this devastating incident receive mercy,” he said as he and dozens of others gathered at the scene of the landslide to pray for the dead.

Mr Zubair is leading rescue missions, hoping to recover more bodies and find survivors despite the lack of equipment and resources.

The August 31 landslide that followed days of heavy rainfall in Tarasin, in the Marrah Mountains, could have possibly killed as many as 1,000.

The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ocha, had a similar death toll estimate, but said it’s hard to confirm the magnitude of the tragedy because the area is hard to reach.

The UN has said that efforts have been mobilised to support the affected area, located more than 560 miles west of the capital, Khartoum.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a briefing on Thursday that an estimated 150 people from Tarseen and neighbouring villages have been displaced.

Local NGOs, UN agencies and international groups have been attempting to reach the site partly by donkey due to rough terrain, according to Mr Dujarric.

Sudan is already impacted by one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world caused by the ongoing civil war that erupted in April 2023 in Khartoum.

More than 40,000 people have been killed and as many as 12 million displaced.

Some areas in the country are struggling with famine and disease outbreaks.