<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>At least 10 people have died in the heavy rains and landslides pummeling Abidjan, Ivory Coast officials told AFP.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The count was a provisional toll as of Friday, according to the military's firefighting brigade GSPM.</div><div><br></div><div>"We recorded 10 deaths, nine in Yopougon and one in Cocody-Angre," two districts of Abidjan, the country's largest city and economic hub, Anicet Bah, GSPM captain and deputy head of operations, told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>In the industrial zone Yopougon, the first landslide struck around 3:00 am on Thursday, causing four deaths and one injury, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>In the same area, a second landslide left seven people injured and another four dead, including a child, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Not far from there, in Attecoube-Mossikro, another body was pulled from the landslide at dawn.</div><div><br></div><div>Closer to the city centre, in Cocody, "one person was swept away by the waters" and the body was later found by residents.</div><div><br></div><div>The firefighters were told another three victims had been washed away, but Bah said the operation to find them had been called off after a search that was "in vain".</div><div><br></div><div>June and July bring heavy rain to Ivory Coast every year, but precarious construction has led to more flood-prone areas, particularly in poorer neighbourhoods of the swelling West African metropolis, which is home to an estimated 5.6 million people.</div><div><br></div><div>In mid-June, a family of five -- a couple and their three children -- died in a landslide in Yopougon.</div><div><br></div><div>The populous district was hit by tragedy during last year's rainy season as well, when six people were buried in a landslide after a night of heavy rain. According to AFP reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>