Authorities in Guinea said Tuesday that they had found at least 19 bodies believed to have washed up from neighbouring Sierra Leone following catastrophic flooding and mudslides there.

Some 500 people died and more than 800 were reported missing after the disaster that struck Sierra Leone's capital Freetown on August 13-14, when heavy rains swept away everything in their path.

Two weeks later, officials in Guinea said bodies had washed up as far away as the capital Conakry, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) from Freetown, as well as further down the coast at the ports of Koba and Kakossa and off the island of Kabak.

"Since the catastrophe in Freetown we have recovered a total of 19 bodies off our coasts, only one of which bore ID," maritime chief Seinkou Keita told reporters in Conakry.

Authorities believe they must have been carried by the currents from Sierra Leone due to the grim state of the bodies. One was missing its limbs, as were the bodies of many of victims swept away by the torrent in Freetown.

Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, is struggling to recover from the disaster that hit its capital just three years after its last catastrophe, Ebola.

Authorities say heavy rains on August 13 saturated the hilly ground in some neighbourhoods of the densely-populated city of 1.2 million, causing landslides that carried away hundreds of ramshackle homes.

Tweet

The losses that come after the earthquake: Devastating and costly
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 28, 2017
Earthquakes: Nature's most unpredictable and one of her most devastating natural disasters. When high intensity earthquakes strike they can cause thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in damaged property. For decades, experts have studied major earthquakes; most have focused on fatalities and destruction in terms of the primary effects, the shaking unleashed. A new study takes a diff ... read more

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only