Marie el-Drese, secretary general of the Libyan Red Crescent, told The Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 had been reported missing in the ruined city of Derna. Earlier, city officials said the death toll could reach 20,000.
A precise tally of the rising number of people killed is incredibly difficult to compile given the level of destruction and the chaotic political situation in the region, with bodies still washing up on the shore and burials being held in mass graves.
As rescuers searched underwater and under rubble, fears grew that rotting bodies could lead to a deadly outbreak of disease.
A deluge of rainfall from Mediterranean storm Daniel caused two dams to collapse, sending waves more than 20 feet high through the heart of Derna, a port city in the country’s east.
More than 7,000 residents were wounded, ambulance service spokesman Osama Ali told NBC News.
Numbers have varied depending on which official has provided them, though all put the toll well into the thousands and Derna’s mayor has said that it could more than triple as search teams and survivors find more bodies in the ruins.
“The situation is very large and surprising for the city of Derna. We were not able to confront it with our capabilities that preceded the storm and the torrent,” Mayor Abdel Moneim al-Ghaithi told Sky News Arabia on Wednesday night.
His office said that the number of those killed could hit 20,000 — around a fifth of the city’s population — based on estimates of those living in areas that were swept away.
MNA/PR
