Libya floods death toll 'could reach 20,000'

King tells of his deep sadness after quarter of city is swept into the sea

- Miriam Burrell and Matt Watt

KING Charles has said he and the Queen are "desperately saddened" by the "horrific" flooding in Libya, as the mayor of the city of Derna warned that up to 20,000 could have died there.

Search teams today continued to comb streets and wrecked buildings for bodies in the coastal city following the disaster sparked by Storm Daniel on Sunday. Two dams collapsed and unleashed a massive flash flood that swept multi-storey buildings into the sea while families slept.

Mayor Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi told Al Arabiya TV he estimated that between 18,000 and 20,000 people could have died based on the number of wiped-out districts in the city. More than 5,000 people have been confirmed dead and at least 9,000 are known to be missing. At least 30,000 people have been displaced and as much as a quar-

ter of the city, which had a population of around 90,000 has disappeared, emergency officials said.