Sierra Leone: Rescue workers find 400 bodies in mudslide, over 600 still missing
The Red Cross said that nearly 1,600 families have been affected by the landslide and floods.
Rescue worked have recovered more than 400 bodies buried in the landslide in Sierra Leone’s Regent, Red Cross said on Friday. Over 600 people are still feared missing and nearly 1,600 families have been affected by the mudslide, a statement by the organisation said.
A hillside in Regent, on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, had collapsed after a heavy downpour on August 14, burying many houses. The heavy rain had also caused widespread flooding in the Racecourse, Regent and Lumley areas near Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown.
In an appeal for global support, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Secretary General, Elhadj As Sy, said that the chances of finding survivors is getting smaller by the day.
Haphazard development has made the country vulnerable to flooding, BBC reported. In 2015, 10 people died and thousands were displaced by floods that lashed Freetown during the monsoon.
