Severed fibre-optic cables hamper search for survivors in eastern Libya where thousands died after dams collapsed
A daylong communication outage in the flood-stricken city of Derna in eastern Libya has further complicated the work of teams searching for bodies under the rubble and at sea.
The country’s chief prosecutor, meanwhile, vowed to take “serious measures” to deliver justice for the victims of the floods, which killed thousands of people and devastated the coastal city more than a week ago.
The outage was caused when fibre-optic cables were severed on Tuesday, Libya’s state-owned telecommunications company said. Engineers were investigating to determine whether it happened because of digging for bodies or was sabotage, the company’s spokesperson, Mohamed al-Bdairi, told a local television station.
Internet and phone service were knocked out, and residents and journalists were unable to reach those inside Derna. Authorities said communications with the city were restored on Wednesday evening.
Heavy rains triggered deadly flooding across eastern Libya earlier this month. The storm overwhelmed two dams in the first hours of 11 September, sending a wall of water several metres high through the centre of Derna, destroying entire neighbourhoods and sweeping people out to sea.
The floods inundated as much as a quarter of the city, officials have said.
