At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
Las primeras cifras hablaban de casi 200 muertos, pero horas después las estimaciones ascienden casi al doble. Ha ocurrido a primera hora de la mañana cerca de Freetown, la capital de Sierra Leona. Después de que las lluvias causaran fuertes inundaciones en Regent, a escasos kilómetros de Freetown, estas lluvias han derivado en ríos de lodo y han contribuido al derrumbe de parte de una colina, publicó El Mundo.
Según el diario local The Sierra Leone Telegraph, de los primeros 200 muertos, al menos 60 eran menores de edad. Los servicios de rescate y emergencia están sobrepasados por el elevado número de víctimas, cuyos cuerpos están siendo trasladados a la morgue del Hospital Connaught.Se teme que el número de víctimas siga creciendo en las próximas horas, ya que muchas personas permanecen sepultadas después de un movimiento de tierras en la colina se precipitara sobre sus viviendas. “Es muy probable que cientos de personas sigan sepultadas bajo el fango”, ha asegurado el vicepresidente Victor Fog a Reuters.
“El desastre es tan serio que me siento roto”, ha añadido, “estamos tratando de acordonar la zona y de evacuar a la población”. Según han declarado algunos periodistas locales que se han acercado a la zona afectada, el desastre podría haberse producido cuando la mayor parte de la gente estaba durmiendo, lo que habría imposibilitado que se avisaran entre los vecinos del peligro. Las fotos que los ciudadanos están compartiendo en las redes sociales como testigos del desastre muestran coches flotando en las calles, chabolas destruidas y personas sorteando el agua que a muchos llega casi al nivel del cuello.
Fuertes caudales de agua y fango caen con fuerza llevándose por delante todo lo que se encuentra a su paso, ya que se trata de una zona rural y las viviendas no están hechas para soportar este revés. Además de Regent, otras áreas afectadas son Kissy Brook y comunidades de Dworzak Farm. Como medida de seguridad para evitar más muertes, las autoridades locales han pedido a los ciudadanos que eviten los traslados en coche ya que varias carreteras de la zona han sido cortadas a causa de las lluvias. Regent se encuentra en el Parque Nacional Western Area, que en 2012 se presentó como candidato a formar parte de la lista de lugares Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO.
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH
At least 312 people were killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, leaving morgues overflowing and residents desperately searching for loved ones. An AFP journalist at the scene saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses were washed up on the streets.
/ AFP PHOTO / SAIDU BAH