Sierra Leone prepares for mass funerals after mudslides

AP , Wednesday 16 Aug 2017

Sierra Leone
Rescue workers search for survivors after a mudslide in the Mountain town of Regent, Sierra Leone, August 14, 2017. Pictures taken August 14, 2017 (Photo: Reuters)

Sierra Leone's government is urging family members to identify their loved ones' remains following mudslides and floods in the capital that have killed more than 300 people.

In a statement Wednesday, President Ernest Bai Koroma's office asked relatives to come to the city's overwhelmed mortuary.

The statement says all unidentified corpses will be given a "dignified burial" in the coming days.

The death toll is expected to rise after mudslides and floodwaters in and around Freetown this week killed hundreds of people, many of them trapped as they slept.

Among the victims are more than 100 children.

The Red Cross estimates that 600 people remain missing.

The risk of further mudslides remains, along with the risk of disease.

The government has appealed for donations of equipment to help remove bodies.

 

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