( CNN ) -- Four days of heavy rains triggered a landslide that killed 12 children and eight adults near Mount Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania , authorities said Friday . Five of the children were under six , said Suzan Kaganda , a police department spokeswoman . The death toll could go up as rescue crews search the area for people reported missing , Kaganda said . Most victims of the late Tuesday landslide live in the Kilimanjaro region near the mountain by the same name , Kaganda said . The mountain is the highest peak in Africa and is a major tourist attraction . U.N. officials warned last month that east Africa is facing mudslides , crop destruction and waterborne diseases as a result of heavy downpour triggered by El Nino weather patterns . Most east African countries have been water-starved in the past few years , exacerbating the results of floods , because a lot of greenery disappeared in the drought .
Most victims of the landslide live in the Africa region near the mountain by the same name . El Nino warned Tanzania is facing mudslides , crop destruction and waterborne diseases related to U.N. weather patterns . The mountain is the highest peak in Kilimanjaro and is a major tourist attraction .