Friday, March 29, 2024

Hundreds killed in Sierra Leone mudslide

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Isaac Kaledzi
Isaac Kaledzihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Kaledzi
Isaac Kaledzi is an experienced and award winning journalist from Ghana. He has worked for several media brands both in Ghana and on the International scene. Isaac Kaledzi is currently serving as an African Correspondent for DW.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a mudslide that occurred in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown on Monday.

According to the Red Cross atleast 200 have been killed with that figure likely to increase.

The country’s vice President Victor Foh told Reuters that “It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble.”

Foh who was speaking from the scene of the disaster said the mudslide happened in the mountain town of Regent where many unauthorized buildings had been erected.

The vice president who said he was heartbroken revealed that “The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken.”

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A witness told Reuters that people are devastated by the disaster which has claimed many houses.

Foh said “We’re trying to cordon (off) the area (and) evacuate the people.”

The AFP news agency also reported that at least 180 people have been killed, citing an official at the city’s Connaught Hospital.


Dozens of bodies have so far been retrieved and a local Red Cross spokesperson told AFP that the total death toll from flooding in the capital had risen to 312.

Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa.

Map shows the location of the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown

 

Source: Africafeeds.com

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