Eastern Libya authorities: Over 2,000 dead, thousands missing in flood

Over 2,000 people were killed and thousands more were missing after a massive flood ripped through Libya's city of Derna following a heavy storm and rain, authorities in eastern Libya said.

Ahmed Mismari, the spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls eastern Libya, said in a televised news conference that the disaster came after dams above Derna had collapsed, "sweeping whole neighborhoods with their residents into the sea".

Mismari put the number of missing at 5,000-6,000.

Earlier on Monday, the head of the Red Crescent aid group in the region had said Derna's death toll was at 150 and expected to hit 250.

Libya is politically divided between east and west and public services have crumbled since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that prompted years of conflict. The internationally recognized government in Tripoli does not control eastern areas.

Photo credit: Reuters