Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 more injured on Monday when a military transport truck flipped over on a major road in the Sierra Leone capital, a military spokesman said.

FREETOWN: Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 more injured on Monday when a military transport truck flipped over on a major road in the Sierra Leone capital, a military spokesman said.

The open-air truck was carrying more than 40 soldiers from their barracks to a funeral in Freetown when its brakes failed as it descended a steep hill. It toppled over and slid for more than 30 metres, Captain Yaya Brima said. Eight soldiers were among the dead.

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"This is a real tragedy for us," he said by telephone. "We're currently investigating what could have happened to have caused one of our own vehicles to have failed in such a catastrophic way."

(Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Tim Cocks)</s>FREETOWN (Reuters) - Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 more injured on Monday when a military transport truck flipped over on a major road in the Sierra Leone capital, a military spokesman said.

The open-air truck was carrying more than 40 soldiers from their barracks to a funeral in Freetown when its brakes failed as it descended a steep hill. It toppled over and slid for more than 30 meters, Captain Yaya Brima said. Eight soldiers were among the dead.

“This is a real tragedy for us,” he said by telephone. “We’re currently investigating what could have happened to have caused one of our own vehicles to have failed in such a catastrophic way.”</s>FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone’s defense ministry says at least 10 people are dead and several others are wounded after a military truck had brake failure, flipped and caused an accident in the…

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone’s defense ministry says at least 10 people are dead and several others are wounded after a military truck had brake failure, flipped and caused an accident in the capital, Freetown.

A soldier with the ministry, Unisa Conteh, said late Monday that seven soldiers and three civilians were killed. He said the truck had been transporting mourners to the Military War Graves cemetery to attend the burial of a military staff sergeant who died over the weekend in a road accident.

This latest crash is among the country’s most deadly road accidents in recent years.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone's defense ministry says at least 10 people are dead and several others are wounded after a military truck had brake failure, flipped and caused an accident in the capital, Freetown.

A soldier with the ministry, Unisa Conteh, said late Monday that seven soldiers and three civilians were killed. He said the truck had been transporting mourners to the Military War Graves cemetery to attend the burial of a military staff sergeant who died over the weekend in a road accident.

This latest crash is among the country's most deadly road accidents in recent years.</s>The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on October 1, 2018 7:43 PM

FREETOWN (Reuters) - Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 more injured on Monday when a military transport truck flipped over on a major road in the Sierra Leone capital, a military spokesman said. The open-air truck was carrying more than 40 soldiers from their barracks to a funeral in Freetown when its brakes failed as it descended a steep hill. It toppled over and slid for more than 30 metres, Captain Yaya Brima said. Eight soldiers were among the dead. "This is a real tragedy for us," he said by telephone. "We're currently investigating what could have happened to have caused one of our own vehicles to have failed in such a catastrophic way." Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox.</s>Several soldiers and civilians lost their lives this afternoon, when a military vehicle carrying the remains of a dead soldier for burial at the military cemetery, lost control and somersaulted along Spur Road in Lumley, the far west of Freetown.

It is not yet clear what caused the accident, but Spur Road is said to be notoriously known for fatal accidents.

Unconfirmed reports put the number of soldiers killed at 7, with more than 6 civilians feared dead or critically injured.

Hundreds of people are killed every year on the roads in Sierra Leone, with speeding – reckless driving and lack of vehicle maintenance very often cited as the most common cause.

This evening there are calls for strict enforcement of road traffic regulations and spot checks of vehicle maintenance certificates by the police.

But with bribery, corruption and lawlessness at the centre of human existence in Sierra Leone, it is almost impossible to expect any improvement anytime soon.

Many of the eyewitnesses at today’s scene of the fatal accident, say that the military truck had careered off the road, ploughing into dozens of pedestrians on the crowded footpath and somersaulted, after its brakes had failed.

Eyewitness accounts say that there were no emergency services on sight for over thirty minutes after the accident, to rescue the injured to hospital as motorists and bystanders performed improvised first-aid. Sierra Leone’s ambulance service is almost non-existent.</s>Eleven people died and dozens more were injured when a Sierra Leone army vehicle overturned on a hill in the capital Freetown, the military said Tuesday the day after the accident.

The army truck had been heading for a funeral service for a soldier who recently died when the accident happened in mid-afternoon, on one of the hills that surround the centre of Freetown.

"I was burying my cousin and just got news that my sister was involved in an accident on their way to the funeral," Mabinty Kamara said at the military war grave, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Eight soldiers and three civilians have been confirmed dead," while 70 others were injured, the army said in a statement citing its medical chief Stephen Sevalie.

Of the injured, 57 remain in the Freetown military hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe, the statement added. They have been visited there by government officials.

An investigation has been opened into the incident.</s>FREETOWN, Sierra Leone >> Fatmata Kamara had just stepped outside her house before dawn Monday when she saw the muddy hillside collapsing above her. The only thing she could do was run.

She was one of the survivors, those who managed to escape the surging mudslides and floodwaters in and around Sierra Leone’s capital that killed more than 300 people, many of them trapped as they slept. Another 600 people are missing, the Red Cross said Tuesday, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Thousands lost their homes in the disaster, which was triggered by heavy rains.

“I ran away from the house, leaving behind my family,” a grieving Kamara told The Associated Press. “I am the only one that has survived, as my house and dozens of others were covered with mud and boulders.”

Rescuers dug with their bare hands through the thick, reddish mud to try to find any survivors in the debris of the homes. Heavy equipment was later brought in, government spokesman Cornelius Deveaux said. The military also was deployed to help.

Late Tuesday, Deveaux said that 297 bodies have been recovered so far, including 109 males, 83 females and 105 children.

Some bodies were swept into the sea off the coast of the West African nation and have begun washing back ashore.

The mortuary of the Connaught Hospital in central Freetown was overwhelmed with the dead. More than 300 bodies of men, women and children were brought there, and many were laid out on the floor. Deveaux said an exact death toll was unknown, and many of the bodies were horribly mangled.

President Ernest Bai Koroma said Sierra Leone was in a state of grief and mourning, with many survivors still in shock. He called for seven days of mourning starting today.

Radio journalist Gibril Sesay said he lost his entire family.

“I am yet to grasp that I survived, and my family is gone,” he said through sobs, unable to continue.

Ahmed Sesay, caretaker of a two-story house near the Guma Valley Dam east of the capital, said he was sleeping around 6 a.m. when he felt a vibration.

“It was like an earthquake. I ran out of my quarters to the gate of the compound,” he said. “The ground shook and I had to stay outside the compound until daybreak.”

An estimated 9,000 people have been affected in some way by the disaster, said Abdul Nasir, program coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“I have never seen anything like it,” he said. “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.”

Charles Mambu, a civil society activist and resident of one affected area, Mount Sugar Loaf, said the magnitude of the destruction indicated that hundreds more people could be dead.

In one sign of hope, two people were pulled alive from the debris Monday evening, Mambu said.

The U.N. said it is providing emergency response assistance.

Contingency plans are being put in place to try to stem the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, Deveaux told radio station FM 98.1.

The bodies that have been recovered will begin to be buried in the next 48 hours, said Sulaiman Parker, environmental protection officer for the Freetown City Council.

Many of the poor areas of Freetown are near sea level and have poor drainage systems, which makes flooding worse during the rainy season. The capital also is plagued by unregulated construction of large residential houses in hilltop areas.

Thousands of makeshift settlements in and around the city were severely affected.

“The government has been warning people not to construct houses in these areas. When they do this, there are risks,” Nasir said. “People don’t follow the standard construction rules, and that is another reason that many of these houses have been affected.”

Deforestation for firewood and charcoal is one of the leading contributors to the flooding and mudslides.</s>Thomas Cook Group, one of the leading global tour operators may soon start tourism operations in Sierra Leone, according to ministry of tourism report.

In a meeting with the Flight and Airport Services Manager of Thomas Cook Group, Stephane Joly, the company said they will be sending their executives to Sierra Leone to evaluate tourism investment opportunities.

Facilitated by the National Tourist Board, the Group held exploratory meetings with Sierra Leone’s Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Memunatu Pratt at the recent French Expo in Paris.

During the talks with Thomas Cook, the Minister spoke about the country’s rich cultural and tourism resources and opportunities, and invited Thomas Cook Group to explore Sierra Leone.

The Group promised to visit Sierra Leone in November 2018 to evaluate the country’s tourism opportunities and strengths with a view to marketing Sierra Leone globally as a tourist resort.

“Sierra Leone remains one of the untapped treasures of the world” remarked the country’s Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh.

Fatmata Abe Osagie is the Acting General Manager of the Tourist Board of Sierra Leone. She said that bringing Thomas Cook Group to Sierra Leone could be the best thing to happen to tourism in Sierra Leone.

Thomas Cook Group operates in over 150 countries. Their package holidays are second to none with some of the world’s best destinations.

With international flight operators such as KLM and British Airways deciding not to fly to Sierra Leone, an opportunity with Thomas Cook to promote Sierra Leone as a tourist destination can only open the country for other flight operators to compete.

Sierra Leone’s tourism industry is in a state of flux but has a great potential for development.

With the new government prioritising farming, education, healthcare, electricity, water and infrastructure, Sierra Leone’s economy should start growing by at least 15% over the next three years, after a very steep decline twelve months ago.

Sierra Leone’s reliance on the mining industry has quite rightly so come to an end. President Julius Maada Bio is now working towards the diversification and restructuring of the economy, to promote sustainable economic growth, employment and wealth creation.</s>FREETOWN – Violent clashes erupted during a local by-election in Sierra Leone leaving a teenager dead and prompting the cancellation of the ballot, police and election officials said Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday at a polling station in a school in the northern Kambia district, where a ballot box was destroyed, sparking an altercation between supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and the opposition All Peoples Congress.

But the confrontation quickly turned violent with a teenager killed in the clashes, police told AFP.

"The intensity of the clashes resulted in the death of a boy," a police source said.

Polling station staff immediately suspended the ballot but were prevented from leaving for three hours until they were rescued by the army with help from police, a commission statement said.

It was not clear what sparked the confrontation, but an APC spokesman expressed anger over the cancellation of the ballot.

Sierra Leone, which was battered by civil war between 1991-2002, is sharply divided along regional lines that overlap with ethnicity.

The APC broadly relies on the Temne and Limba people in its northern strongholds, while the SLPP is more popular in the south with the Mende ethnic group.

One of the world’s poorest nations despite huge mineral and diamond deposits, Sierra Leone is recovering gradually from war and disease. Its economy remains fragile, with corruption widespread in the former British colony.
Thirteen people are killed and at least 30 others are injured when a military transport truck flips over on a major road in Freetown, Sierra Leone.