Massive search for bodies near New Orleans

POYDRAS, Louisiana – Police, military troops and rescue workers at the weekend staged a massive search for bodies in the small town of Poydras, just east of New Orleans.

Authorities sealed off the entire area as amphibious assault vehicles, military trucks, ambulances and rescue teams with cadaver dogs moved in. The bloated body of a dead horse lay on the side of the road.Debris of smashed houses, cars and even boats littered the area.Dogs who lost their owners roamed the streets and highways.Cows huddled in the shade, often dozens of kilometres from the farms that were destroyed and lost most of their herds.In nearby Chalmette, an eerie silence enveloped neighbourhoods where the toxic soup of floodwaters, sewage and oil has just receded, leaving behind a nauseating stench and a thick layer of caked mud.There was no sign of human life, but a dog lapped water from a cesspool.Above him, a large toy car sat incongruously on an uprooted tree.Dozens of boats lay on the ground, many still tied to houses or lampposts and filled with belongings their owners had evidently hoped to salvage.Rescuers on foot, and in boats in still flooded areas, continued their grim search for victims.They also did their best to convince the few people who did not evacuate to leave the contaminated town.At the same time, workers used heavy machinery to clean up the worst of the sludge and debris, and repaired power lines.- Nampa-AFPThe bloated body of a dead horse lay on the side of the road.Debris of smashed houses, cars and even boats littered the area.Dogs who lost their owners roamed the streets and highways.Cows huddled in the shade, often dozens of kilometres from the farms that were destroyed and lost most of their herds.In nearby Chalmette, an eerie silence enveloped neighbourhoods where the toxic soup of floodwaters, sewage and oil has just receded, leaving behind a nauseating stench and a thick layer of caked mud.There was no sign of human life, but a dog lapped water from a cesspool.Above him, a large toy car sat incongruously on an uprooted tree.Dozens of boats lay on the ground, many still tied to houses or lampposts and filled with belongings their owners had evidently hoped to salvage.Rescuers on foot, and in boats in still flooded areas, continued their grim search for victims.They also did their best to convince the few people who did not evacuate to leave the contaminated town.At the same time, workers used heavy machinery to clean up the worst of the sludge and debris, and repaired power lines.- Nampa-AFP