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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Afghan landslide rescue operation called off |
| 2014-05-04 |
| [Dhaka Tribune] Afghan officials gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors from a landslide in the remote northeast, putting the possible death toll at more than 2,100, as rescuers turned their attention to helping the over 4,000 people displaced. Officials expressed concern the unstable hillside above the site of the disaster may cave in again, threatening the homeless as well as the UN and local rescue teams that have arrived in Badakhshan province, which borders Tajikistan. "More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, told Reuters. On the other hand, officials later said that a maximum of about 500 people died in the landslide that engulfed a village. "The first figure that we announced was obtained from local people, not from our technical team," Gul Mohammad Bedar, the deputy governor of Badakhshan province, told AFP. "We think the dead toll will not rise beyond 500." Many villagers were at Friday prayers in two mosques when they were entombed by a tide of debris, and a second landslide hit people who had rushed to assist those in need. Rescuers abandoned the search for survivors on Saturday, with officials saying 300 people were now confirmed 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." However, the BBC estimates the death count at 2,500 and the Guardian says 2,700 and more people have been affected by the disaster. Villagers and a few dozen police, equipped with only basic digging tools, resumed their search when daylight broke but it soon became clear there was no hope of finding survivors buried in up to 100metres of mud. "Seven members of my family were here, four or five of them were killed ... I am also half alive, what can I do?" said an elderly woman, her hair covered in a pink shawl. The UN mission in Afghanistan said the focus was now on the more than 4,000 people displaced, either directly as a result of Friday's landslide or as a precautionary measure from villages assessed to be at risk. Their main needs are water, medicine, food and emergency shelter, said Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The impoverished area, dotted with villages of mud-brick homes nestled in valleys beside bare slopes, has been hit by several landslides in recent years. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Well, it'd be 2000 if they could tie it to |
| Posted by: P2kontheroad 2014-05-04 07:48 |
| #1 2,000 dead, but the death toll shouldn't rise beyond 500? Obama math. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-05-04 04:12 |