Hiiraan Online
Tuesday October 29, 2019
BELEDWEYNE (HOL) - Rescue efforts to recover bodies of eight people who went missing when a boat they were in Monday capsized in Beletweyne have not borne fruit as only two bodies were recovered.
Hiiraan mayor Safia Sheikh Hassan told reporters Tuesday a helicopter from the UN which was dispatched Monday afternoon had not managed to locate the bodies amid fears they may have been washed into River Shabelle.
Families waited along the river for any news of their loved ones.
Two bodies among them that of a businessman identified as Sharif Arabey were recovered Monday evening.
Among those missing are HirShabelle state presidential advisor Dahabo Ahmed. A video on social media captured by some of the passengers in the ill-fated boat showed her up beat saying they were on their way to assisting families marooned by the floods.
Mayor Safia was also in the boat which is estimated to have been carrying about 20 passengers. The team was part of the humanitarian committees formed by the federal government and HirShabelle to oversee the humanitarian efforts.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in its weekly update Monday three people among them two ten year olds had died in the floods which have now displaced 182,000 according to the report.
The UN body noted that 85% of Beletweyne town was now submerged in water.