Over 5,300 dead and 10,000 are missing after Libya dam bursts following storm

Dozens of families in Derna washed out to sea as toll expected to rise

Over 5,300 dead and 10,000 are missing after Libya dam bursts following storm

Samy Magdy

Emergency workers have uncovered more than 1,500 bodies in the wreckage of Libya’s eastern city of Derna, and it was feared the toll could spiral with 10,000 people reported still missing after floodwaters smashed through dams and washed away entire neighbourhoods of the city.

The death toll in Derna alone has exceeded 5,300, the state-run news agency quoted Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the east Libya interior ministry, as saying on Tuesday.