Sierra Leone holds mass burial for over 300, braces for more downpours, mudslide

The photos below were taken as graves were being dug for remaining victims of a mudslide in Regent, near Freetown, Sierra Leone. Though hundreds were buried on Tuesday and Wednesday, however over 400 people have been confirmed dead in the incident that happened after a hillside in the Regent collapsed on Monday morning, following a night of heavy rain, sending mud sliding down and covering houses where people were sleeping.




The Red Cross said on Wednesday that there are roughly 600 people still missing, suggesting that the death toll would likely rise. Some 9,000 people were affected by the disaster, in the West African country still recovering from the Ebola crisis that killed 4,000 people from 2014-2016.

Aid workers said there was a high risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera, as corpses are lying out in the open in the heat.

Sierra Leone

Relatives of dead victims have been asked to come to the city’s overwhelmed mortuary to identify their loved ones, as the press statement from President Ernest Bai Koroma’s office, further said that all unidentified corpses will be given a “dignified burial” in the coming days