THE death toll from massive mudslides in Sierra Leone’s capital looks certain to rise as bodies washed up on a beach and workers searched for an untold number buried in their homes.

The Red Cross estimated that 600 people were still missing.

Authorities have said more than 300 people were killed in and around Freetown on Monday following heavy rains. Many were trapped under tonnes of mud as they slept.

The Connaught Hospital mortuary in central Freetown was overwhelmed yesterday with more than 300 bodies.

“The magnitude of the destruction as a result of the disaster is such that the number of victims in the community who may not come out alive may likely exceed the number of dead bodies already recovered,” said Charles Mambu, a civil society activist and resident of one affected area, Mount Sugar Loaf.

In a sign of hope, he said, “two bodies were brought out alive from the debris last evening”.

Government spokesman Cornelius Deveaux said rescue operations began early yesterday to remove people still believed to be buried in the rubble. Heavy equipment was deployed to dig into the piles of red mud.

He definitive death figures were unknown “as the mortuary is overwhelmed with corpses - men, women and children”.

“Contingency plans are being put in place to mitigate the outbreak of diseases like cholera,” he added.

Sulaiman Parker, an environmental protection officer at Freetown City Council, said bodies will be buried within 48 hours.

Some rescue workers and volunteers dug overnight through the mud and debris with their bare hands in a desperate search for missing relatives. Military personnel have been deployed to help with the operation in the impoverished West African nation.

“I have never seen anything like it,” said Abdul Nasir, programme co-ordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“A river of mud came out of nowhere and swallowed entire communities, just wiped them away. We are racing against time, more flooding and the risk of disease to help these affected communities survive and cope with their loss.”

An estimated 9000 people have been affected, Nasir added.