- Title: Thousands of bereaved and homeless mudslide victims seek help in Sierra Leone
- Date: 17th August 2017
- Summary: REGENT, ON THE EDGE OF FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE (AUGUST 17, 2017) (REUTERS) CROWD GATHERING OUTSIDE REGISTRATION CENTRE, WHERE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR HOMES REGISTER THEIR NAMES MEN SPEAKING ON MEGAPHONE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING AT ENTRANCE TO REGISTRATION CENTRE PEOPLE GATHERING INSIDE REGISTRATION CENTRE MAN WRITING DOWN HIS NAME VARIOUS OF MARIATU KAGABO, VICTIM OF THE FLOODING, HOLDING BAGS OF WATER IN HER HANDS AND BABY IN HER ARMS (SOUNDBITE) (Krio) FLOODING VICTIM, MARIATU KAGABO, SAYING: "I haven't found my husband yet, I went to all the hospitals but I couldn't find him. My mother wants to take me to her village for safety. Right now, I'm confused, I don't know what to do." VIEW OF HILL WHERE THE MUDSLIDE CAME DOWN (SOUNDBITE) (Krio) FLOODING VICTIM, YENATU UNDE, SAYING: "I have nobody left, I'm alone with my children, I'm displaced and so far I haven't received any assistance for myself and my children." VARIOUS OF HOUSE DESTROYED BY FLOODS WRECKAGE OF VEHICLE SWEPT AWAY BY MUDSLIDE VARIOUS OF RESCUERS IN WHITE PROTECTIVE SUITS SEARCHING FOR BODIES
- Embargoed: 31st August 2017 15:36
- Keywords: Sierra Leone mudslide registration of victims flooding search for bodies humanitarian relief
- Location: REGENT, ON THE EDGE OF FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
- City: REGENT, ON THE EDGE OF FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
- Country: Sierra Leone
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Floods
- Reuters ID: LVA0016UJPMBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of people registered at centres across the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown and the outlying district of Regent on Thursday (August 17) after losing loved ones and their homes to a huge mudslide.
Soldiers and volunteers with shovels and pickaxes dug through the perilous site of the mudslide in search of hundreds of bodies believed still buried days after the disaster.
Approximately 600 people are missing after a torrent of mud on Monday swept away homes on the edge of Freetown, the Red Cross said, in one of Africa's worst flood disasters in living memory.
Around 400 bodies have been found.
Aid agencies warned that corpses trapped in the mud are likely to contaminate water sources and cause outbreaks of disease, but continuous rain has made the search difficult and dangerous.
Many of the survivors had still not received any assistance and were unsure whether to stay in the area in the hope of receiving news of missing loved ones, or leave and seek shelter elsewhere. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None