Rapid Burial of Landslide Victims in Sierra Leone Due to Fear of Epidemics

Two days after the landslide incident in the African country of Sierra Leone, officials began burying dozens of bodies outside the capital on Wednesday, August 16, due to fears of an outbreak of infectious diseases. According to Reuters, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain also expressed her condolences on Thursday, August 17, regarding the deadly incident, which is reported to have claimed around 500 victims. Sierra Leone, considered one of the poorest countries in Africa, was a British colony for about 150 years until it declared independence in 1961. In her message, Queen Elizabeth II extended her condolences and deep sympathy to the survivors of the hundreds of victims of the landslide. Following the onset of the rainy season, part of the hills outside Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, collapsed on Monday, burying dozens of homes under tons of debris and mud. The landslide occurred in a neighborhood called Regent on the outskirts of Freetown. So far, nearly 400 bodies have been recovered from the mud, but according to Sierra Leone's forensic official in an interview with Reuters, it is expected that more than 500 people may have lost their lives. Sierra Leonean officials had not announced any updated casualty figures by the end of Wednesday. Meanwhile, concerns about the outbreak of infectious diseases due to the exposure of bodies in the hot and humid weather, along with warnings from rescuers, prompted authorities to begin the rapid burial of the bodies. On Wednesday, the burial of nearly 300 bodies was scheduled to be completed at a cemetery outside the capital. With a population of six million, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in Africa and was also the scene of a deadly Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016, which according to the latest statistics claimed the lives of four thousand people in the country.