Rescue efforts continue in flood-hit Libya: Red Crescent

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) - Rescue teams continue search and rescue operations amid dwindling hopes of finding survivors 11 days after floods swept through eastern Libya, according to officials.

The eastern city of Derna was the hardest hit by floods, causing dams to burst and washing away homes and people.

"In the city of Derna, eastern Libya, local and international teams continue their search and rescue work,” Abdul Salam Al-Hajj, president of the Libya Red Crescent Association, told Anadolu.

He said most bodies are found washed away in the Mediterranean Sea or in ponds.

“Rescue teams have encountered many difficulties due to waste carried away by the floods,” he said. “For these reasons, it is difficult to determine when the search and rescue operations would end.”

Al-Hajj did not provide information regarding the number of bodies found by rescue teams in the city.

Nearly 4,000 people were killed in floods caused by Storm Daniel in Libya on Sept. 10, while more than 40,000 have been displaced, according to UN figures.

At least 59 relief cargo planes from 24 countries have landed in Libya to help those affected by the floods, the Libyan unity government said late Wednesday.

Libya's Tripoli-based High Council of State, which acts as a senate, demanded an international investigation Wednesday into the deadly floods.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​