Six days after the disaster, there is a lot of uncertainty

A week after floods hit Libya, an accurate estimate is hard to come by. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Saturday evening, September 16, that at least 11,300 people had died in the city of Terna and 170 in the east of the country, with approximately 10,100 residents. missing This UN A figure that the agency attributed to Libyan Hibiscus. But he denied it on Sunday.

“We are shocked to see our name mixed with these figures. They add to the confusion and distress of families. disappeared”, Libyan Red Crescent spokesman Tawfiq Chokri told AFP from Benghazi. The figure was mentioned for the first time on Thursday By US agency Associated PressThis is attributed to someone who was given the position of Secretary General of the Libyan Red Cross.

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“The number is expected to rise as search and rescue teams work around the clock.”, and Ocha office comment on Saturday evening. During the day, other agencies presented lower death tolls: the health minister of the administration of eastern Libya noted 3,252 deaths; The World Health Organization, for its part, reported 3,958 bodies recovered and more than 9,000 people missing.

Bodies found at sea

Ocha also warns about the humanitarian situation “Especially Dark” In Terna, survivors are without drinking water: At least 55 children have been poisoned by contaminated water, according to a United Nations agency. A third French civil security plane landed near Terna during the night from Saturday to Sunday, contributing to the establishment of a field hospital.

On the night of Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, Storm Daniel brought heavy rain and two dams broke upstream in Terna, a town of 100,000, causing a flash flood to destroy several neighborhoods.

According to the testimonies of the residents, most of the victims were buried in the mud or washed towards the Mediterranean Sea. The search continues, mainly to find the remains of the victims, as the chances of survival for the survivors are slim. Maltese and Libyan rescue workers testified that they found several hundred bodies on the beach.