At least 312 people have been killed by raging floods and mudslides, Sierra Leone officials reported Monday.
According to the Freetown authorities, hundreds of bodies have already been brought to the morgue, which has quickly become overwhelmed by the number of dead, the Daily Astorian reported. Local authorities said that many are digging through the mud looking for their friends and family. Some carried their relatives’ remains in rice sacks.
Heavy rains in #SierraLeone have left many dead and homeless. No confirmation of the # of casualties yet but is feared to be in the 100s. pic.twitter.com/4UlGQxcx00
— FA Legg (@Effinaa) August 14, 2017
Sierra Leone’s Climate Change Communication Society has reported that 60 of the over 300 dead are children. The bodies were all over the morgue’s floor, a coroner technician at the Connaught Hospital mortuary told the Sierra Leone National Broadcasting Corp. “The capacity at the mortuary is too small for the corpses,” he added.
Dramatic footage of deadly #Freetown #floods #Sierraleone #climatechangeisreal = more intense rains, flash flooding pic.twitter.com/yvHiceM13y
— S4CCC-SL (@scccsierraleone) August 14, 2017
The coroner technician also asked the health department to send more ambulances to help with the crisis, given that his mortuary only has four vehicles. He noted that military personnel have been sent to assist in the search and rescue operation.
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