11 feared dead in Kenya landslides

Kenyan authorities say at least six people died when their village was swept away by floods in central Kenya.

They have warned that further landslides could occur and have advised people living in areas prone to landslides to move to safer places.

The second disaster had struck as rescuers were trying to pull out the victims of the first disaster

Dola Indidis, police spokesman

Five other people are missing.

Two residents, who were rescued by police, have been admitted to hospital where they are described as critically ill.

Police confirmed that the dead were a husband and his wife who were killed along with their four children in Meru district when a mudslide triggered by heavy rain buried their home.

Rescuers

Rescuers pulled another couple from the wreckage alive after the disaster struck on Tuesday, but five people were still missing after a second deluge of soil engulfed rescuers.

"The second disaster had struck as rescuers were trying to pull out the victims of the first disaster," police spokesman Dola Indidis told Reuters news agency.

Mr Indidis said the bodies of the couple and the four children had been taken to a mortuary.

Police said they believe the children belonged to the dead couple, but they had not yet been identified.

Downpours

The BBC's Alice Muthengi in Nairobi says more than 200 families were left homeless in Meru and have now been moved to a shelter at a nearby school.

She quotes the Kenya Red Cross as saying that most of those affected are in urgent need of food and shelter.

Rescuers were still searching for signs of the five missing people at the scene of the mudslide in Giumbu village, about 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Nairobi, Mr Indidis said.

Downpours have swept the east African country this week, disrupting traffic and flooding some business premises and homes.

Heavy rains have also left scores of families homeless in western Kenya, while hundreds of cattle and sheep are reported to have drowned in northeastern Kenya.