Libya floods city 'smells like death' as trapped bodies spark disease warning

17 September 2023 , 16:07

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Libya floods city 'smells like death' as trapped bodies spark disease warning

Dozens of bodies from the Libya flood disaster continued to be washed up yesterday on beaches 60 miles away as the death toll reached 11,500.

Official figures confirmed another 10,100 are still missing. The United Nations called more help from around the world in a desperate attempt to stop disease spreading in the devastated city of Derna. Islamic Relief warned of a “second humanitarian crisis” pointing to the “growing risk of water-borne diseases and shortages of food, shelter and medicine”.

Senior official Salah Aboulgasem said: “Thousands of people don’t have anywhere to sleep and don’t have food. The city smells like death. Almost everyone has lost someone they know.” Hundreds of decomposed dead bodies remain buried under collapsed buildings and pose a major health risk to those who survived the floods.

Devastation in the Libyan city of Derna (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed the 11,500 death toll but added: “These figures are expected to rise as search-and-rescue crews work tirelessly to find survivors.”

The revised death toll came as international aid started trickling in, with the UN and countries in Europe and the Middle East offering relief to survivors, including 40,000 people who have been displaced in the wake of the disaster. The aid includes essential medicines, food, tents, blankets and hygiene kits, as well as heavy machinery to help clear the debris and body bags to allow corpses to be moved.

Plane passengers stuck on flight for 13 hours - only to end up where they began

The disastrous floods have resulted in more than 11,000 deaths (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Libya’s top prosecutor has announced he will investigate the collapse of two dams in the eastern port of Derna which unleashed a torrent of water that killed thousands of people and largely destroyed the city. General Prosecutor al-Sediq al-Sour said that local authorities, previous governments, and the allocation of the dams’ maintenance funds will be examined.

Andy Lines