About 10,000 people are thought to be missing after major flooding in Libya, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has said.

A quarter of the eastern city of Derna was wiped out by floodwaters after dams burst in a storm, with more than 1,000 bodies recovered so far.

It is estimated that as many as 2,000 people may have died in Derna alone.

Tamer Ramadan, head of the IFRC in Libya, said: “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.

“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands.”