At least 312 people killed in Sierra Leone mudslides

Sierra Leone's national television broadcaster interrupted its regular programming to show scenes of people trying to retrieve their loved ones' bodies. Others were seen carting relatives' remains in rice sacks to the morgue.


Military personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue operation currently ongoing, officials said.

"It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble," Vice President Victor Foh told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in the mountain town of Regent, adding that a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area.

"The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken," he added. "We're trying to cordon (off) the area (and) evacuate the people."

People cried as they looked at the damage under steady rain, gesturing toward a muddy hillside where dozens of houses used to stand, a Reuters witness said.

Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning put residents at risk.

(Source: Agencies)