Survivors of a flood that swept away the centre of a Libyan city picked through the ruins on Thursday in search of loved ones from among thousands of dead and missing, while authorities feared an outbreak of disease.
Tens of thousands of people are thought missing after Sunday's flooding.Survivors of a flood that swept away the centre of the Libyan city of Derna picked through the ruins on Thursday in search of loved ones from among thousands of dead and missing, while authorities feared an outbreak of disease from rotting bodies.
"I went by foot searching for them...I went to all hospitals and schools but no luck," he told Reuters, weeping with his head in his hands. Confirmed death tolls given by officials so far have varied, but all are in the thousands, with thousands more on lists of the missing. Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television the number of deaths in the city could reach 18,000 to 20,000, based on the extent of the damage.
Streets were covered in deep mud and strewn with uprooted trees and hundreds of wrecked cars, many flipped on their sides or their roofs. One car was wedged on the second-floor balcony of a gutted building.
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