The AFP news agency reports that the death toll from the deadly Sierra Leone mudslide has hit 312, with more than 2,000 left homeless after the incident.
Houses in the region affected, just outside the capital Freetown, are reported to have been submerged as roads turned into churning rivers and corpses were washed up on the streets.
The news agency reports Red Cross spokesman Patrick Massaquoi to say that the death toll had hit 312, and could still rise further as his team went ahead with the rescue services.
“It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” Reuters reports another Red Cross official Abu Bakarr Tarawallie to say.
“The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,” he said. “We’re trying to cordon the area. Evacuate the people.”
Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning has put residents at risk.
