Hundreds of mudslide victims buried in Sierra Leone, search for hundreds missing goes on

Record ID: 906773

  • Title: Hundreds of mudslide victims buried in Sierra Leone, search for hundreds missing goes on
  • Date: 17th August 2017
  • Summary: VOLUNTEERS IN PROTECTIVE SUITS SINGING RELIGIOUS SONGS AROUND THE COFFINS DRAPED IN FLAG COFFIN DRAPED IN FLAG / SINGING VOLUNTEERS SINGING AND CRYING
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2017 22:27
  • Keywords: Sierra Leone mudslide victims mass burial grave digging severe weather
  • Location: WATERLOO, SIERRA LEONE
  • City: WATERLOO, SIERRA LEONE
  • Country: Sierra Leone
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Floods
  • Reuters ID: LVA0046UJR03R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Burials began on Thursday (August 17) for 300 people killed in Sierra Leone's mudslide while the search went on for hundreds of others still missing.
    In a ceremony attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma, wooden coffins were lowered into hurriedly dug graves at a cemetery in Waterloo, as the country tried to begin recovering from one of Africa's worst flood disasters in living memory.
    At least 400 people were killed on Monday (August 14) when a torrent of mud swept away homes on the edge of Freetown. One hundred and fifty have already been buried.
    Meanwhile, the search for remaining bodies intensified at the mudslide site as aid agencies warned that corpses trapped in the mud are likely to contaminate water sources and cause outbreaks of disease.
    In total, approximately 600 people are missing, the Red Cross has said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.
Register