Sierra Leone loses hope for survivors

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Survivors picking through the debris of Sierra Leone’s deadly mudslides were facing the reality Saturday that most, if not all, of the hundreds of people missing are dead, as relief and aid efforts intensified.

The death toll is already above 450 people from the flooding and mudslides that occurred early Monday in and around the capital, Freetown.

The number of missing could go higher than 600, according to Sierra Leone’s deputy minister of information and communications, Cornelius Deveaux.

Satellite images and census figures are being used to calculate a more accurate human toll.

Rescue officials have warned that the chances of finding survivors “are getting smaller every day.”

Large-scale burials began last week despite rainy weather that threatened even more mudslides.

The government of the impoverished West African nation in recent days has warned residents to evacuate a mountainside where a large crack has opened. Authorities have told Sierra Leone media outlets that thousands of people live in areas at risk, and the main focus is making sure they leave before further disaster.

The government plans to relocate those affected to temporary, and eventually permanent, shelters.