THE death toll following Libya’s devastating floods has soared to 11,300, with more than 10,000 still missing.
A major dam collapse washed a 10ft deep torrent of water through the eastern city of Derna on Sunday – wiping out everything in its path.
Health authorities previously put the death toll in Derna at 5,500, but according to the Libyan Red Crescent, this number has since risen to a gut-wrenching 11,300.
However, local officials suggest the death toll could be much higher than announced.
A Maltese rescue team discovered hundreds of dead bodies on a beach yesterday.
Natalino Bezzina, leading the team, told Times of Malta: “There were probably about 400, but it is difficult to say.”
The four-person rescue team made a heartbreaking discovery of a family, including three children, dead inside a sea cave.
Many of the dead are believed to have been washed out to sea by heavy flooding after rainfall burst two of the city’s dams.
In comments to the Saudi-owned Al Arabia television station on Thursday, Derna Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Ghaithi said the tally could climb to 20,000 given the number of neighbourhoods that were washed out.
The apocalyptic Strom Daniel also killed around 170 people elsewhere in the country, including the towns of Bayda, Susa, Um Razaz and Marj.
