Libya's city of the dead

20,000 death toll feared as flood's first victims put in mass graves

- Lara Hassan

THOUSANDS of bodies have been buried in mass graves after the flood which devastated eastern Libya is feared to have killed 20,000.

The victims of raging waters which swept through Derna were wrapped in body bags before being laid to rest in the wet mud.

At least 6,000 people are confirmed dead and 10,000 people are missing in the city but deaths have not yet been verified in other affected areas like Benghazi. Another 30,000 people are displaced, said the UN.

The minister of civil aviation Hichem Abu Chkiout said the sea was "constantly dumping out bodies" and reconstruction would cost billions.