Skip to main content
NTv Online

World

World
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Mid East
  • More
  • Offbeat
  • South & Central Asia
  • Viral
  • Bangla Version
  • Archive
  • Bangladesh
  • World
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • Comment
  • Education
  • Life
  • Health
  • Art & Culture
  • Election
  • বাংলা
  • Bangladesh
  • World
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • Comment
  • Education
  • Life
  • Health
  • Art & Culture
  • Election
  • বাংলা
  • Bangla Version
  • Archive
Follow
  • World
Reuters
16 August, 2017, 10:51
Update: 16 August, 2017, 10:51
More News
Lawmaker Habibe Millat speaks on Universal Health Coverage in Pan-African Parliament
Islamic State claims it killed 11 soldiers in Nigeria
Dozens of migrants drown off Tunisia coast after leaving Libya
After ousting Bashir, Sudan’s activists struggle to loosen military’s grip
South Africa votes with corruption, jobs as big issues

Over 400 bodies recovered, 600 missing in Sierra Leone mudslide

Reuters
16 August, 2017, 10:51
Update: 16 August, 2017, 10:51

Freetown: Rescue workers have recovered nearly 400 bodies from a mudslide in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, the chief coroner said on Tuesday, as morgues struggled to find space for all the dead.

Dozens of houses were buried when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent on Monday morning—one of the deadliest natural disasters in Africa in recent years.

President Ernest Bai Koroma urged residents of Regent and other flooded areas around Freetown to evacuate immediately so that military personnel and other rescue workers could continue to search for survivors who might be buried underneath debris.

‘As the search continues, we have collected nearly 400 bodies— but we anticipate more than 500,’ chief coroner Seneh Dumbuya told Reuters.

Hundreds of other people are missing, aid agencies said.

Bodies continued to arrive at Freetown’s overwhelmed central morgue on Tuesday. Corpses were lying on the floor and on the ground outside for lack of room, a Reuters witness said.

‘Our problem here is space. We are trying to separate, quantify, and examine quickly and then we will issue death certificates before the burial,’ said Owiz Koroma, head of the morgue, who also estimated the death toll to be in the hundreds.

To relieve pressure on the morgue, authorities and aid agencies were preparing to bury the bodies in four different cemeteries across Freetown, said Idalia Amaya, an emergency response coordinator for Catholic Relief Services.

The burials are expected to take place on Thursday, government spokesman Cornelius Deveaux said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres is providing hundreds of body bags to authorities that the medical charity kept in Sierra Leone after the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak which killed 4,000 people in the former British colony.

Fear of disease

Sierra Red Cross Society spokesman Abu Bakarr Tarawallie said by phone he estimated that at least 3,000 people were homeless and in need of shelter, medical assistance and food. The Red Cross said another 600 were missing.

‘We are also fearful of outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid,’ he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Freetown. ‘We can only hope that this does not happen.’

Contaminated water and water-logging often lead to potentially deadly diseases like cholera and diarrhoea after floods and mudslides.

Crowds of people gathered, waiting for news of missing family members.

‘I’ve been looking for my aunt and her two children, but so far no word about them,’ said a tearful Mohamed Jalloh. He said he feared the worst.

President Koroma said in a television address on Monday evening that rescue centres had been set up around the capital to register and assist victims.

Bulldozers dug through mud and rubble at the foot of Mount Sugar Loaf, where many residents had been asleep when part of the mountainside collapsed. The government said a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area

Most Read
  1. WHO site shows how they refuse to acknowledge scientific evidence on vaping
  2. Tholos Foundation urges Bangladesh govt not to ban e-cigarettes
  3. India bans service charge at hotels and restaurants
  4. Bangladesh and Australia working towards key trade partners
  5. Bigger and better Mother Language Day Walk
  6. Islamic State loses second leader in two years
Most Read
  1. WHO site shows how they refuse to acknowledge scientific evidence on vaping
  2. Tholos Foundation urges Bangladesh govt not to ban e-cigarettes
  3. India bans service charge at hotels and restaurants
  4. Bangladesh and Australia working towards key trade partners
  5. Bigger and better Mother Language Day Walk
  6. Islamic State loses second leader in two years

Follow Us

Alhaj Mohammad Mosaddak Ali

Chairman & Managing Director

NTV Online, BSEC Building (Level-8), 102 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215 Telephone: +880255012281 up to 5, Fax: +880255012286 up to 7

Browse by Category

  • About NTV
  • NTV Programmes
  • Advertisement
  • Web Mail
  • NTV FTV
  • Satellite Downlink
  • Europe Subscription
  • USA Subscription
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact

Our Newsletter

To stay on top of the ever-changing world of business, subscribe now to our newsletters.

* We hate spam as much as you do

Alhaj Mohammad Mosaddak Ali

Chairman & Managing Director

NTV Online, BSEC Building (Level-8), 102 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215 Telephone: +880255012281 up to 5, Fax: +880255012286 up to 7

Reproduction of any content, news or article published on this website is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved