Sierra Leone Mudslide: Hundreds Killed, Displaced
Local Editor
Hundreds of people were killed in a mudslide near Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.
A hillside in Regent, a mountainous town 15 miles east of Freetown, collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning after heavy rains, leaving hundreds of people trapped.
Morgues in the capital were overwhelmed with bodies, while relatives have been left to dig through the mud in search of remains.
Death tolls are unconfirmed, although the International Federation of Red Cross reports that 312 have been killed and more than 1,000 affected. Disaster officials in Sierra Leone estimated 2,000 people have been left homeless.
"It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble," Victor Foh, the country's vice-president, told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in Regent, adding that a number of buildings had been erected illegally in the area.
"The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken. We're trying to cordon [off] the area [and] evacuate the people."
Additionally, an AFP journalist saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in mud in two areas of the city, where roads were turned into churning rivers.
Kelfa Kargbo, country director in Sierra Leone for the organization Street Child, which is assisting with the recovery, said the mudslide started at 3am when a heavy downpour covered Freetown, bringing down all the houses built along the side of the hill in Regent. "It had a domino effect for a distance of about two miles. The mud came down burying people alive, bringing down houses, bringing down big buildings."
Throughout Monday, searches for bodies were carried out by residents, emergency workers and the military.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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