‘The waters carried him away’: Derna families mourn for those lost to flood

With thousands killed, rescue workers in Derna, Libya, are having to bury the dead rapidly to avoid the spread of disease. Photograph: Stefanie Glinski

The site of the mass graves where thousands of people have been buried since devastating floods wiped out much of the eastern Libyan port city of Derna on 11 September is on top of a hill. Countless bodies have been taken here, washed and then wrapped in sheets, covered by red soil and quicklime to counter the stomach-turning stench of decay. There is a constant sound of excavators digging new graves.

Hanan Ali does not know if her husband’s body is in a mass grave. Photograph: Stefanie Glinski