Rescuers are still searching for victims after the landslide happened in the district of Mbankolo, northwest of Yaounde, on Sunday evening, AFP reported.
Landslides are frequent during the rainy season in the city of nearly three million people, where shacks are often put up on its many hills.
Torrential rainfall caused a dam containing a man-made lake situated on higher ground to burst, according to public broadcaster CRTV and a local official.
Paul Atanga Nji, minister of territorial administration, said at the site that the death toll had risen to 27 after rescuers earlier announced 23 had died.
AMK/PR
