At least 270 bodies recovered from Sierra Leone mudslide

Rescue workers have recovered 270 bodies so far from a mudslide in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown and the search continues for more, the mayor said on Tuesday

Bystanders look on as floodwaters rage past a damaged building in Sierra Leone. Pic/AFP

Rescue workers have recovered 270 bodies so far from a mudslide in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown and the search continues for more, the mayor said on Tuesday.

Dozens of houses were covered in mud when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent, one of the deadliest natural disasters in Africa in recent years. “We have a total of 270 corpses which we are now preparing for burial,” Freetown mayor Sam Gibson said.

President Ernest Bai Koroma urged residents to evacuate immediately so that military personnel and other rescue workers could continue to search for survivors.

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