Torrential 'disaster' in Burundi capital kills 51 people

A displaced Burundian boy stands outside houses destroyed by floods at Gatumba, near Bujumbura on January 25, 2007. By Wfp (World Food Programme/AFP/File)

Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - At least 51 people died in flooding and landslides in a night of torrential rain in Bujumbura, Burundi's Security Minister said Monday.

"The rain that fell in torrents overnight on the capital caused a disaster," the minister, Gabriel Nizigama said, adding: "We have already found the bodies of 51 people killed when their houses collapsed or were swept away" by the floods.