Sierra Leone: 500 bodies found after mudslides and flooding

Morgues packed with bodies as people dig for survivors

Wednesday, 16th August 2017

Around 500 bodies have been found so far after "huge" mudslides hit the capital of Sierra Leone - and more heavy rain is feared to be on the way.

Relatives have been gathering at a morgue overloaded with bodies in Freetown and national TV showed images of people bringing bodies to the morgue in rice sacks.

The chief coroner, Seneh Dumbuya, said he expected the death toll would rise.

Rescuers are still trying to find people buried under tons of mud when a hillside collapsed after storms lashed the West African country on Monday.

Zynab Kamara from charity ActionAid said it was the most tragic thing she had seen in a decade of working in emergency relief.

"I saw children clambering over the rubble and mud, desperately calling for their parents. So many people were trapped, trying to reach their loved ones."

Kamara, who grew up in Sierra Leone, said the mudslide in the mountain town of Regent was "huge in scale" and buried "everything in its path, destroying homes from five storey buildings to corrugated iron shacks".

A mass burial is understood to have taken place yesterday to free up more space in the overwhelmed central mortuary.

President Ernest Bai Koroma asked residents of Regent and other flooded areas in Freetown to leave their homes so military personnel and other rescue workers could search for survivors.

Every pound raised by @streetchilduk flood appeal is going straight to #sierraleone to help these communities. Hard to believe we were visiting here just two months ago.

A post shared by West Africa Cycle Challenge (@waccycle) on Aug 16, 2017 at 12:08am PDT

Up to 3,000 people are also said to be without shelter after floodwaters smashed through their homes - with many people hearing the mudslides approaching but unable to escape in time.

Aid agencies said thousands in the capital may also not have access to safe drinking water.

ActionAid's Humanitarian Director Richard Miller said: "While search and rescue is still ongoing, there are currently over 1,500 people reported missing - and this number is expected to rise.

"Our local aid workers in Sierra Leone are telling us that they are especially concerned for the welfare and safety of girls and women, who are the most vulnerable at this time.