塞拉利昂洪水泥石流至少250人遇难

Officials in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, say at least 250 people are dead after a mudslide and heavy flooding.

Relatives dug through the mud in search of their loved ones Monday while military personnel were deployed to help with the rescue operation.

Photos and video posted by local residents showed people chest deep in mud trying to traverse the roads.

The catastrophe in the early hours of Monday followed hours of heavy rains. Witnesses described a particularly-hard hit area in Regent saying roads became "churning rivers of mud."

A technician at a local Hospital mortuary, told state media that a lack of space is forcing workers to leave bodies on the floor.

He said the death toll will likely rise, as many people were sleeping in their homes when the flooding and mudslide happened.

A spokesman for the Red Cross told the French News agency that the group had accounted for at least 312 dead.

Officials estimate several thousand people have been left homeless.

塞拉利昂首都弗里敦的官员说，至少有250人死于泥石流和严重的洪水。

星期一，人们在泥石中挖掘，寻找自己的亲人。

与此同时，军队也出动，参与搜救行动。

当地居民上传的照片和视频显示，人们在齐胸深的泥沼中奋力前行。

星期一凌晨发生泥石流前，当地经历了好几个小时的暴雨。目击者形容利金特一处重灾区，说那里的道路已经变成了泥泞的河流。

当地医院停尸房的一位工作人员告诉媒体说，停尸房没有那么多地方，很多尸体只能安放在地上。他还说，泥石流发生时很多人都在家里睡觉，因此估计死亡人数还会上升。

红十字会的一位发言人告诉法新社说，他们掌握的数字显示，死者已有312人。

有关官员估计，泥石流还造成数千人无家可归。