Deadly runaway rock in Freetown

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Two people have been killed and many injured by a huge boulder which rolled down the hilltops overlooking Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Witnesses said the rock hit a group of youngsters who had gone to fetch water from one of the few available pumps at New England Ville, west of Freetown.

Environmentalists blamed the tragedy on soil erosion, caused by tree felling for firewood and construction.

A number of similar landslides have struck the capital in recent years.

The BBC's Lansana Fofana in Freetown says in addition to the two fatalities, a number of other casualties were taken to hospital.

Rainy season peril

A similar accident in the same area about this time last year killed one person and destroyed property, while other hillside communities around the capital have been hit by landslides, he adds.

The capital is surrounded by hills which until recent times were lush with forests.

But with urbanisation and the indiscriminate construction of dwelling houses, the area has become exposed to falls of earth and rock, especially during the rainy season.

Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana said forest guards and state security personnel would be deployed in vulnerable areas to stop people indiscriminately felling trees and erecting dwelling houses.

Information Minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said a special committee would be set up to deal with the problem and the government would soon begin having homes erected without permission in hilltop areas demolished.