Sierra Leone landslide – 450 bodies found, 810 still missing
Featured image: Mass burial in Freetown, Sierra Leone on August 18, 2017. Credit: AlJazeera
Five days after the fatal floods and landslides in Sierra Leone's Freetown area, rainfall continues and the threat of further landslides remains.
As of August 19, up to 450 bodies have been removed from the rubble in 13 communities in and around Freetown. 300 of them were buried in a mass burial on August 18. 330 people are reported injured and 810 missing.
At least 122 of the victims are children, and a similar number have been orphaned by the disaster, the aid group Save the Children said, as reported by the AFP.
"The death toll is climbing by the day," Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told reporters in Geneva, adding that the disaster is "way beyond the capacity of the government alone."
Since rainfall in the region continues, the threat of further landslides remains.
The government has warned residents to evacuate a mountainside where a large crack has opened.
Meteorologists warn rainfall is expected in the coming days too.
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