Four members of a Greek rescue team sent to Libya after the devastating floods that hit Derna were killed in a road accident on Sunday, a Libyan minister said.
Othman Abdeljalil, health minister in the government that governs the country’s east, told journalists that the four members died as the team was traveling from Benghazi to Derna, 300 kilometers (186 miles) to the east. “The team consisted of 19 members. Four of them died and the other 15 were injured,” Abdeljalil said at a news conference in Derna.
“Eight are in stable condition and the other seven are in critical condition,” he added.
The minister said the accident occurred when his vehicle collided with a car carrying a Libyan family. Three people in the car were killed and two were seriously injured, he said.
In Athens, the General Staff of the Greek National Defense initially said in a statement that the rescue team bus had collided with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
The statement only mentioned “minor injuries” among team members. However, later on Sunday, state television ERT reported that three members of the Greek rescue team had been killed and two others were missing. The Greek army statement said an operation was underway to pick up and repatriate personnel in Benghazi.
A week after the collapse of two dams caused floods that devastated the coastal city of Derna and swept thousands to their deaths, international aid efforts to help survivors accelerated on Sunday.
Search and rescue teams, wearing masks and protective suits, continued to look for bodies or survivors in the mud-covered terrain, with destroyed buildings, crushed cars and uprooted trees.
Residents, 30,000 of whom are now displaced in Derna alone, urgently need drinking water, food, shelter and basic services, amid rising risks of cholera, diarrhea, dehydration and malnutrition, UN agencies warn.
Amid the chaos, the true death toll remains unknown, with untold numbers of people swept into the sea. Minister Abdeljalil said 3,283 people were killed in Derna after another 31 bodies were recovered on Sunday. The UN speaks of 11,300 dead and 10,000 missing.
Source: DN
