Mr. Benson said the bodies were later handed over to him for private burial.

“Thank God they let us take these ones,” he said. “Even with their decomposed bodies, we would have buried the others on our own in a dignified way.”

Mary Sesay lost a sister and two brothers. She said that after hours of standing in line outside the morgue, she and several others were denied entry because it was no longer safe.

“They said because of the condition of the bodies, they will go ahead and bury the bodies,” Ms. Sesay said. “I just want to see them for the last time, even if they won’t let me take their bodies away.”

John James, the head of communications for Unicef in Sierra Leone, said on Wednesday that his organization had donated 1,000 body bags to the Ministry of Health in an effort to facilitate “a dignified” burial process.

He said his organization had also provided mattresses, water tanks, water storage facilities and temporary toilets for displaced victims who are housed in schools, churches, mosques and other temporary shelters.

“The potential for infectious diseases like cholera is our biggest concern,” Mr. James said. “The water infrastructure has taken a big hit, and the dirty water that swept through the city, and the potential for further undiscovered corpses, heightens the risk, particularly for children.”