At least 312 dead after Sierra Leone mudslide

[Judi Lynn]

7. Sierra Leone prepares for mass funerals after mudslides

Clarence Roy-macaulay, Associated Press
Updated 10:50 am, Wednesday, August 16, 2017

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone's government urged family members to come to the capital's overwhelmed mortuary Wednesday to identify their loved ones' remains as the West African nation prepared to bury hundreds of mudslide and flood victims.

Crews continued the grim work of extracting bodies from tons of debris after fierce storms left impoverished, low-lying areas of Freetown buried in mud from the city's hilltops. Volunteers have been digging with pick axes and, at times, only their hands.
 
More than 300 people are confirmed dead — a third of them children — and Red Cross officials estimate some 600 others remain missing more than 48 hours after the storm hit. Thousands of people have lost their homes.

President Ernest Bai Koroma's office asked relatives to come to the city's morgue, saying that all unidentified corpses will be given a "dignified burial" in the coming days. He had called for seven days of mourning starting on Wednesday.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Sierra-Leone-prepares-for-mass-funerals-after-11822713.php