At least 55 children in the northern Libyan city of Derna have been poisoned as a result of water pollution caused by the recent floods, according to the head of the Libyan National Disease Control Center, Haider al-Sayeh, on Friday.

Abderrahim Mazyek, the head of al-Bayda health institution and a member of the governmental committee on emergencies in eastern Libya, told Sputnik that the delayed finding of the corpses in Derna might lead to the outbreak of diseases and infections.

Al-Sayeh told Libyan news agency Abaad that 55 cases of poisoning have been reported already, stressing the importance of evacuation.

Rescue workers in the devastated city of Derna have appealed for more body bags after a catastrophic flood killed thousands of people and swept many out to sea overnight on Monday.

International aid is slowly starting to reach the port city after Storm Daniel hit the northern coast of Libya on Saturday night. As many as 20,000 people are feared to have died, The Guardian reported.

The Libyan Minister of Civil Aviation in the eastern administration of Libya, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, told reporters on Wednesday that hospitals in eastern Libya are unable to accommodate all the victims of the fatal floods.

On September 10, Libya experienced heavy rainfall due to Storm Daniel, resulting in severe flooding in the eastern part of the country.

If Derna in Libya looks like a war zone, it's because we are in a war against fossil fuels, and right now they are winning.

🎥: Alwasat Libya pic.twitter.com/LtEIup37e4

— Extinction Rebellion Global (@ExtinctionR) September 14, 2023