Hundreds feared dead in Sierra Leone mudslide
Teacher shot dead in front of pupils
HUNDREDS of people are feared dead after a mudslide in the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, officials and witnesses say.
Sierra Leone Vice President Victor Foh has said many people are still buried underneath the debris.
“It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” Foh told Reuters news agency at the scene of yesterday’s mudslide in the mountain town of Regent.
He said a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area hit by the mudslide.
“The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,” he said. “We’re trying to cordon [off ] the area (and) evacuate the people.”
Rescue workers were trying to reach those trapped, after buildings were submerged in two areas of the city.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ishmeal Alfred Charles of the Healey International Relief Foundation, Freetown, described the situation as “disastrous”, saying that many houses have been “wiped away” by the rushing mudslide.
Bodies were spread out on the floor of a morgue, Sinneh Kamara, a coroner technician at the Connaught Hospital mortuary, told the national broadcaster, the Sierra Leone National Broadcasting Corp.
“The capacity at the mortuary is too small for the corpses,” he said.
Kamara urged the health department to deploy more ambulances, saying his mortuary only has four.
Sierra Leone’s national television broadcaster interrupted its regular programming to show scenes of people trying to retrieve their loved ones’ bodies.
Others were seen carting relatives’ remains in rice sacks to the morgue.
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 traverse the road.
Military personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue operation, officials said.
Many of the impoverished areas of Sierra Leone’s capital are close to sea level and have poor drainage systems, exacerbating flooding during the West African country’s rainy season.— Al Jazeera. BUSHBUCKRIDGE — A primary school teacher in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga was shot dead in full view of her pupils, allegedly by her husband, yesterday morning.
Police spokesperson Colonel Motsholi Bhembe said school was about to start when the husband approached the principal for permission to speak to his wife, a Grade 2 teacher.
The principal refused, but the man insisted, saying he only needed a few minutes to talk to her, said Bhembe.
Bhembe said the principal granted the man permission.
According to Bhembe, some of the pupils were waiting outside of the classroom when the 40-yearold man approached the teacher and fired one shot at her.
“The 30-year-old woman ran for her life when the man fired two more shots that killed her,” Bhembe said.
e man fled the scene. He said police went to the couple’s home and found the man had committed suicide. He had a gunshot wound to the head.
Police are investigating a case of murder and have also opened an inquest docket.
Mpumalanga Department of Education spokesperson Jasper Zwane said they were very disturbed by the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident and hereby send our condolences to the family of the deceased and those who affected by her passing,” Zwane said.
Zwane said the department was currently monitoring the situation at the school and had also deployed officials from the wellness section to provide counselling services to the pupils, educators and some family members.— News24.