More than 200 people have been killed in a mudslide near Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, Red Cross society said.
A hillside in the Regent area collapsed early on Monday following heavy rains, leaving many houses covered in mud.
Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh said it is “likely that hundreds are lying dead”. The number of casualties is expected to rise as many people were asleep when the mudslide occurred.
The area had been cordoned off as people were evacuated, with many still feared trapped in their homes.
Locals were reportedly trying to recover bodies from the rubble and mud with their bare hands.
The worst-hit area is thought to be the Regent district on the outskirts of Freetown, where dozens of houses were submerged when the hillside collapsed at about six a.m in the morning.
