Rescuers’ desperate hunt for quake survivors
Libya flood rescuers in 400-body beach find Medics hope to set up clinics in disaster zone mountains
THE remains of hundreds more victims have been found on a beach nearly a week after floods hit Libya.
Maltese rescuers said yesterday about 400 bodies were discovered among debris in a small bay, including children.
The death toll is 11,300 but the mayor of stricken coastal city Derna warns that it could top 20,000.
Around 10,000 people are still missing.
Officials on Friday vowed to prosecute those responsible for the neglect of the two dams at the centre of the disaster, which collapsed amid record rainfall.
Yesterday, a huge package of medical supplies arrived after concerns there was not enough for survivors.
The World Health Organisation said 29 tons, enough for almost 250,000 people, had landed in Benghazi. The
Aid delivery organisation has also urged Libyan authorities to stop using mass graves.
It said such burials could bring long-term mental distress to families or cause health risks if located near the water.
Islamic Relief warned shortages of food, shelter and medicine, plus the growing risk of disease, could cause a “second humanitarian crisis”.
A spokesman 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.”
Meanwhile, an official denied allegations many of those killed were told to stay in their homes.
Government spokesman Othman Abdul Jalil said soldiers warned people in Derna to flee – but he conceded some may have felt the threat was exaggerated.
Crew saves donkey and searches rubble, below
David Anderson, Tom Godfrey and Rocco Massad news@irishmirror.ie