At least 200 dead in Sierra Leone mudslide

At least 200 people were killed in a mudslide in Sierra Leone following heavy rains, local authorities said.
The incident happened early Monday in the mountainside town of Regent, on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital of the west African nation, Reuters reported.
Bodies were spread out on the floor of a morgue, Sinneh Kamara, a coroner technician at the Connaught Hospital mortuary, according to the Associated Press.

“The capacity at the mortuary is too small for the corpses,” he told the Sierra Leone National Broadcasting Corp.
A number of houses were buried when a hillside collapsed. It said many people were asleep at the time.
National television showed people digging through mud to retrieve bodies. Military personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue operation, the Associated Press said.
Deputy Information Minister Cornelius Deveaux said officials were still trying to compile casualty figures, according to the AP.