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Sierra Leone Mudslide: 400 Bodies Recovered, 600 Still Missing

Sierra Leone Mudslide: 400 Bodies Recovered, 600 Still Missing
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Local Editor

The death toll from massive landslides in Sierra Leone reached almost 400, with hundreds of others still missing, authorities said.

Sierra Leone Mudslide: 400 Bodies Recovered, 600 Still Missing

The Red Cross confirmed the toll on Tuesday, saying government figures indicated "that there have been 400" bodies recovered.

Hundreds of houses in the capital, Freetown, were buried while their residents were asleep early Monday morning, after a part of Sugar Loaf mountain collapsed following heavy rain.

Dozens of houses were buried in the worst hit town of Regent when the hillside collapsed.

People who survived the disaster are still hoping to find their loved ones alive.

Laura Ngo-Fontaine, a senior communications officer for the Red Cross, said 600 other people were missing in the area and that the organization continued the search and rescue operations.

Meanwhile, bodies continued to arrive at Freetown's overwhelmed central morgue.
"Our problem here is space," said Owiz Koroma, the head of the morgue, who also speculated that the death toll would increase further.

"We are trying to separate, quantify, and examine quickly and then we will issue death certificates before the burial," he said.

Witnesses said bodies could be seen lying on the ground outside the building due to the lack of room.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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