SIERRA LEONE MUDSLIDE

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More than 2,000 people estimated to be homeless as mudslide near Freetown submerges houses and turns streets into churning rivers.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a mudslide near Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.

A hillside in Regent, a mountainous town 15 miles east of Freetown, collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning after heavy rains, leaving hundreds of people trapped. Morgues in the capital have been overwhelmed with bodies, while relatives have been left to dig through the mud in search of remains.

Death tolls are unconfirmed, although the International Federation of Red Cross reports that 312 have been killed and more than 1,000 affected. Disaster officials in Sierra Leone have estimated 2,000 people have been left homeless.

“It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” Victor Foh, the country’s vice-president, told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in Regent, adding that a number of buildings had been erected illegally in the area.