Freetown: Hundreds feared buried in Sierra Leone mudslide

Hundreds of people are feared buried in a mudslide on Monday in the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital, witnesses said. 

The mudslide happened in the early morning in the mountain town of Regent, where dozens of houses were submerged after a night of heavy rain.

A journalist in the country, Umaru Fofana, said the office of national security had confirmed the natural disaster but said it was too early to go into casualty figures.

He added that the rains that started since Sunday had not stopped as at Monday morning.

The affected areas were at an area known as Regent in greater Freetown, “and three communities inundated at Lumley in the west of Freetown,” Fofana added.

The United Nations office in the country has confirmed the disaster adding that they were “Assessing damage, preparing response.”