Houses Buried And Hundreds Killed In Sierra Leone Mudslide After Heavy Rains

The International Red Cross is reporting that at least 179 people have been killed in a mudslide near Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. A hillside in the Regent area collapsed early on Monday following heavy rains, leaving many houses covered in mud, as many people were reportedly asleep when the mudslide occurred.Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh said it was “likely that hundreds are lying dead”. A spokesman for the Red Cross, Abubakarr Tarawallie, said that 179 bodies had been taken to the central morgue in Freetown.Mr Tarawallie said the organisation’s volunteers and staff were involved in search and rescue operations and that people affected were in immediate need of shelter and blankets. He added that at least 100 properties had been submerged and that some had collapsed after a section of Sugar Loaf mountain came down at around 06:00.