Wednesday October 18, 2017
A volunteer group has set up social media pages for people missing or killed in the Somali bombing that left at least 302 dead and hundreds more injured on Saturday.
Gurmand252 was kick-started to help families identify victims in the aftermath of Somalia's deadliest terror attack in more than a decade.
The emergency response group - made up of friends, colleagues and family members - have been posting photos of both victims of the bombing and emergency information from the government.
Volunteers from the group have been visiting hospitals in the area searching for missing people as worried families call and send in photos.
The social media pages and website, assisted by the National Rescue Center and the government, aims to help family members connect with people that are missing through word of mouth.
"We are here to help connect people to their family members have been missing. We have teams visiting every hospital in the city, collecting names and verifying the identities of the victims so that we can share them with their loved ones," a statement read on their website.
"We have teams delivering food to the soldiers at the checkpoints as well as the victims and their families in the hospital."
More than 300 people were killed in the weekend truck bombing in Somalia's capital and scores remain missing, authorities say.
As funerals continue and the nation reels from one of the world's worst attacks in years, the government says the death toll is expected to rise.
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab has been blamed although the group has not claimed responsibility.
The SITE Intelligence Group says al-Shabab has recently posted claims of responsibility for other attacks on Somali and African Union forces but not for Saturday's blast.