FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed when a mudslide struck the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital on Monday, Vice President Victor Foh said.

The Red Cross put the number of bodies so far at the central morgue in the capital, Freetown, at 179.

Earlier, an official at the morgue at Connaught Hospital in Freetown said it had received 70 bodies and police and soldiers were bringing in more.

The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are recovered, Red Cross spokesman Abu Bakarr Tarawallie said.

"It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble," Foh said the mountain town of Regent. He said a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area.

"The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken," he said. "We're trying to cordon the area. Evacuate the people."

Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning has put residents at risk. </s> Hundreds of people are feared dead after devastating mudslide on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown.

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a mudslide on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Heavy rains overnight submerged dozens of homes, and possibly hundreds are underneath the rubble, according to Victor Foh, vice president of the West African country.

A number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area hit by the mudslide, and images obtained by AFP news agency showed a ferocious churning of dark orange mud coursing down a steep street, while videos posted by local residents showed people waist and chest-deep in water trying to cross the road.

Military personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue operation, officials said.

Many of the impoverished areas of Freetown are close to sea level and have poor drainage systems, exacerbating flooding during the rainy season. </s> Massive mudslides on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, have claimed at least 350 lives, including 100 children.

Local media have reported more than 350 unidentified bodies are now in the morgue of the city's largest hospital.

The death toll is expected to rise after more than 1000 homes were buried in mud after a hillside collapsed in heavy rain on Monday with residents believed to be trapped inside, the Sierra Leone Telegraph reports.

A Health Ministry source spoke of up to 500 deaths, while vice president Victor Foh told journalists, "It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble."

Red Cross spokesman Abu Bakar Tarrawellie had earlier said the initial death toll stood at 205, but it was likely the number would climb, with rescue efforts ongoing and 600 people missing.

"The landslide has stopped. But the area is very disaster prone. It is still a considerable threat to anyone. So we encourage anyone to leave [the area]," Tarrawellie said. "The recovery is a huge challenge."

Volunteers could be seen in the neighbourhood of Lumley helping to extricate mangled bodies with their bare hands. The sound of sirens could be heard everywhere, though flooded roads hindered rescue work.

Photos published in the Sierra Leone Telegraph show people wading through streets of thick muddy water reaching up to their hips.

© RAW 2017 </s> FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — The Red Cross estimates that 600 people are still missing as the death toll from massive mudslides in Sierra Leone’s capital is certain to rise.

Bodies have begun washing up on a beach in Freetown. Workers continue to search for an untold number of people buried in their homes.

Authorities say more than 300 people were killed in and around Freetown on Monday following heavy rains. Many were trapped under tons of mud as they slept. </s> The desperate dig for survivors is resuming in Sierra Leone’s capital, after mudslides and floods claimed the lives of more than 300 people.

Their homes in Freetown were engulfed after part of Sugar Loaf mountain collapsed following heavy rain early on Monday morning.

Many of the victims were still asleep in their beds when disaster struck.

Vice-President Victor Foh has warned the final death toll may be far higher.

Another 3,000 people are estimated to have lost their homes.

Ishmeal Charles, a charity worker for the Healey Relief Foundation and Caritas Freetown, told the BBC words could not do justice to the scale of the tragedy.

“Of course you will see a huge number of people crying with those who have lost their family members,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to paint what the reality looks like, because it’s more scary and very sad and disastrous than anyone can be able to describe.”

In the worst hit area, the Regent district, where dozens of houses were submerged when the hillside collapsed at about 06:00 GMT, those who survived spoke of the family members they had lost – or still hoped to find alive.

“My wife is dead. My children are all dead. This morning my children and I talked before I left for work. One of them even chose the socks I should put on,” a man called Malikie told the BBC.

Another woman, called Adama, said she was still searching for her baby.

“We were inside. We heard the mudslide approaching. We were trying to flee. I attempted to grab my baby but the mud was too fast. She was covered, alive.

“I have not seen my husband, Alhaji. My baby was just seven weeks old.”

Mohamed Sinneh, a morgue technician at Freetown’s Connaught Hospital, told news agency AFP he had counted more than 300 bodies on Monday – and said more had been taken to private morgues.

Red Cross spokesman Patrick Massaquoi told the news agency that 312 people were confirmed dead and warned the toll could rise further.

Fatmata Sesay, who lives on the hilltop area of Juba, managed to survive the mudslide after she and her family were woken by the pounding rain.

It was then they realised their home was submerged in water.

“I only managed to escape by climbing to the roof of the house when neighbours came in to rescue me,” she told AFP.

“We have lost everything and we do not have a place to sleep.”

In a televised address, President Ernest Bai Koroma urged people to stay away from the affected areas.

“This tragedy of great magnitude has once again challenged us to come together, to stand by each other and to help one another,” he said.

“Let me assure you that my government is fully engaged on this situation and in collaboration with our development partners we have already established an emergency response centre at Regent to coordinate our response and to provide relief to the survivors.”

Flooding is not unusual in Sierra Leone, where unsafe housing in makeshift settlements can be swept away by heavy rains.

The rains often hit areas in and around Freetown, an overcrowded coastal city of more than one million people.

In 2015, Freetown endured deadly floods sparked by monsoon rains that killed 10 people and left thousands more homeless. </s> The death toll from a devastating mudslide on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital climbed Thursday to 331 as mourners prepared to lay their dead to rest in a mass burial.

Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of 122 children, 111 men and 98 women from the wreckage, Sidie Yahya Tunis, the country’s Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, told CNN.

Around 600 people are still unaccounted for after heavy rains struck the Regent district in the early hours of Monday morning, causing torrents of mud to wash down Mount Sugar Loaf, about 5 miles outside the capital, Freetown, according to government officials and aid agencies.

Houses that hugged the slopes, many of them little more than wooden shacks with tin roofs, were buried after a chunk of the mountain came down under the force of the water.

The mass burial, initially planned for Wednesday, was postponed for a day to allow families to identify their loved ones. The country’s President, Ernest Bai Koroma, and other dignitaries are expected to attend the afternoon ceremony.

The city morgue at the Connaught Hospital has been overwhelmed by the influx of victims in what is one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit Africa in recent years.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 people have also been displaced, Abu Bakarr, spokesman for the Red Cross in Sierra Leone, told CNN on Tuesday.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sent her condolences Thursday to the people of Sierra Leone.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost loved ones and those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected,” she said in a statement posted on her official Twitter account.

Flooding is not unusual in the region, which is experiencing its rainy season.

But this year has been particularly wet, with Freetown receiving more than 27 inches of rain between July 1 and August 13 — more than double the average of 11.8 inches, according to the US National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. </s> Image caption People may have been asleep when mudslides occurred

More than 300 people have been killed in mudslides and flooding near Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

A hillside in the Regent area collapsed early on Monday following heavy rains, leaving many houses covered in mud.

A BBC reporter at the scene said many people may have been asleep when the mudslide occurred.

The number of casualties is expected to rise. Locals were reportedly trying to recover bodies from the rubble and mud with their bare hands.

The worst-hit area is thought to be the Regent district on the outskirts of Freetown, where dozens of houses were submerged when the hillside collapsed at about 06:00 GMT.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Heavy rains have flooded Freetown's streets

Red Cross spokesman Patrick Massaquoi told AFP news agency that 312 were confirmed dead and warned the toll could rise further.

Another spokesman for the Red Cross, Abubakarr Tarawallie, told the BBC that at least 100 properties had been submerged and that some had collapsed after a section of Sugar Loaf mountain came down.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption People in Regent were wading through streets waist-deep in muddy water

A Sierra Leonean disaster management official, Candy Rogers, said that "over 2,000 people are homeless" as a result of the mudslide in the Regent area, AFP reports.

Mr Rogers said a huge humanitarian effort will be required to deal with the aftermath of the flooding.

At the scene: Search for loved ones

By Umaru Fofana, BBC Africa

People are wailing uncontrollably; one woman told me she had lost more than 11 members of her family in the disaster, while another man said he had lost his wife, mother-in-law and children.

Hundreds of people are still coming to the area to look for their loved ones. Some of them told me they have not been able to find them.

In fact, there is no sign of the dozens of homes that were built at the foot of Sugar Loaf mountain.

They are covered in mud, with large areas of mire in some parts. It looks strong, but it is flaky. The concern is that if people walk there they risk sinking in the mud.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Weather's Tomasz Schafernaker explains why Sierra Leone has been hit with torrential rain and mudslides.

Images posted on Twitter show people wading through streets, waist-deep in muddy water following the downpour in and around Freetown.

Flooding is not unusual in Sierra Leone, where unsafe housing in makeshift settlements can be swept away by heavy rains.

The rains often hit areas in and around Freetown, an overcrowded coastal city of more than one million people.

In 2015, Freetown endured deadly floods sparked by monsoon rains that killed 10 people and left thousands more homeless. </s> Rescue workers have recovered 270 bodies so far from a mudslide in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, the mayor said on Tuesday.

Freetown mayor, Sam Gibson, told reporters that rescue operations continue in the town of Regent where the mudslide happened on Monday morning.

Vice President of Sierra Leone Victor Foh said on Monday that it was likely that hundreds were lying dead underneath the rubble.

Mr. Foh told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in the mountain town of Regent that a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area.

“The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,” he added.

“We’re trying to cordon (off) the area (and) evacuate the people.”

The mudslide happened in the early morning in Regent, where dozens of houses were submerged after a night of heavy rain.

A major rescue operation is now underway although emergency workers are struggling to reach the worst-affected areas.

Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning put residents at risk. </s> There is a growing sense of anger outside Freetown's mortuary, where residents have been gathering since Monday's mudslide killed at least 600 people.

The BBC's Martin Patience reports from the scene.
A mudslide triggered by heavy rain near Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, kills at least 350 people with the death toll expected to rise as high as 500.