Search for victims of landslide closed
We cannot continue the search as houses are under metres of mud, says governor
Aab Bareek (Afghanistan): Rescue teams abandoned the search for survivors on Saturday after a landslide buried a hillside village in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 300 people under a fast-moving tide of rock and mud.
Local people and emergency workers using shovels tried in vain to find victims trapped under the massive landslide that engulfed Aab Bareek village in Badakhshan province. Officials said that the final death toll could rise as high as 500 after Friday’s disaster, updating earlier information that 2,500 people were feared dead.
“Based on our reports, 300 houses are under the debris,” Badakhshan governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb told reporters at the scene. “We have a list of around 300 people confirmed dead.”
“We cannot continue the search and rescue operation anymore, as the houses are under metres of mud. We will offer prayers for the victims and make the area a mass grave,” he added.