Libya investigates dams’ collapse after a devastating flood last weekend killed more than 11,000
Associated PressDERNA, Libya — Libyan authorities have opened an investigation into the collapse of two dams that caused a devastating flood in a coastal city as rescue teams searched for bodies on Saturday, nearly a week after the deluge killed more than 11,000 people. Haider al-Saeih, head of Libya’s center for combating diseases, said in televised comments Saturday that at least 150 people had suffered from diarrhea after drinking contaminated water in Derna. Libya’s General Prosecutor, al-Sediq al-Sour, said that prosecutors would investigate the collapse of the two dams, which were built in the 1970s, as well as the allocation of maintenance funds. “The key challenge to a thorough investigation is the Hifter coalition’s longstanding behavior; its historic lack of accountability writ large could obstruct the unearthing of truths,” Harchaoui said.