Lacking sniffer dogs and armed only with shovels, rescuers in Malawi storm on Thursday went on a gloomy hunt to bury the dead after Typhoon Freddy struck the southern African country, killing more than 200 people.
When the rain stopped for the first time in five days, rescuers dug up mutilated bodies buried under the mud and debris of storm-swept homes.
A joint operation by the military and local residents found five bodies in Manje, a town about 15 kilometers (nine miles) south of the commercial capital Blantyre, after locals said bubbles had formed under the muddy rubble.
In a ruined house half covered in mud, five soldiers and 10 community members used three shovels to find the body of a middle-aged man.
The team made a makeshift stretcher using two sticks and a sack, and wrapped the body in a second sack without a body bag.
He then began the trek to the foot of the mountain, where an ambulance and a military vehicle were waiting.
Along the stony and muddy road, somber villagers walked, whispering commiserations and condolences.
“Since yesterday, we noticed that there were bubbles forming in the mud, so we suspected that there was a body there, and we decided to alert the rescue team,” community member Alfred Mbule told AFP.
“Just this morning, our group has recovered three bodies and the other group has recovered two bodies. As of yesterday afternoon, three have been recovered.”
No one in the community could identify the corpse, which was in a state of decay.
Manje, on the eastern side of Mount Soche, mudslide straddles triggered by heavy rains.
“We suspect that the body came from the mountain in a landslide and that it happened to be trapped in the house that is still standing,” said Mbule.
‘Smell’
Freddy returned to African shores at the weekend for the second time in less than three weeks, leaving tears and destruction in his wake.
Traveling 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), the cyclone crossed the Indian Ocean before hitting Africa in late February.
It then loops back to refuel through the ocean and reverse course to smash into the continent twice.
Meteorologists say the cyclone is unusual in its duration and has characteristics that match the dangers of climate change.
Before it disappeared on Wednesday, Freddy held the unofficial record for the world’s longest-running tropical storm, a benchmark set in 1994 by a 31-day storm named John.
Officials have put the death toll at 225, but with the discovery being made in Manje, the number is likely to rise.
“We believe there are hundreds more bodies in the mud,” said Mbule.
At the foot of the mountain, an excavator dug through the mud as many residents watched.
“The strong smell in the air is a clear sign that the bodies are rotting underneath,” said an elderly resident, Rose Phiri, as she watched the machine go through the rubble.
‘miracle’
Amidst the darkness and despair in Manje, there is one tale of hope.
Patrick Njolomole, a member of the rescue team, told AFP that a 13-year-old girl known only as Promise had been rescued after being trapped in a house filled with mud since Sunday.
“It’s a miracle how he survived. He was stuck under the refrigerator door that fell after being hit by the wall of his parents’ house that collapsed,” said Njolomole.
“The house was full of mud, but the refrigerator opened the door allowing him just enough to breathe.
“So yesterday, he became conscious and started screaming for help. That’s when we went to rescue him. He was weak and confused, but still alive.
Jami was taken to the hospital before being reunited with his parents at a nearby evacuation center, he said.