Three children aged four, five, and ten in the village of Diyaba, Minya, lost their lives in a landslide that occurred last week. A 10m wide natural course of torrential rains that runs about one kilometre down the mountain side close to the village collapsed as the children played together near their homes, killing all three. Nagati Youssef, who is a member of the local government of the nearby town of Abu-Qurqas, said the accident was caused by gross negligence since the course had not been maintained for a very long time. He also said that the some of the village houses were too close to the course and should be removed and the people relocated. “This is not the first time a landslide occurs there”, he said, “and, so far, it was only through divine mercy that people were spared. It is not surprising that this time lives were lost. We raised this issue with Minya governorate several times before but nothing was done. The course needs to be regularly cleared of rubble and fortified.”