More than 2,000 feared dead in landslide in Afghanistan
Another, smaller landslide was reported in Badakhshan on Thursday. Photo: The Atlantic WireOfficials in Afghanistan have said that at least 2,000 people are feared dead after a mountainside collapsed causing a massive landslide in a remote region of the country.
Aid, including tents, food and water, has begun to arrive for the survivors.
They spent Friday night camped out in near freezing conditions on the open hillside.
Figures on the number of people killed ranged from a few hundred to more than 2,000. Officials say the landslide, triggered by heavy rains, buried some 300 homes in Badakhshan province. The devastating landslide hit after a smaller landslide a few hours earlier.
Officials now say the site has become a mass grave for the village of Ab Barik.
Fears of more landslides have complicated rescue efforts, with officials saying the depth of the mud will likely make it impossible to bring out more bodies, turning the area into a mass grave.
The focus now is shifting to meeting the food, water and other needs of the thousands of people displaced or evacuated because of the disaster.
U.S. President Barack Obama offered condolences to the Afghan people Friday and said U.S. forces stand ready to help.
Badakhshan — bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan — is one of Afghanistan\’s most remote provinces.
Source: Agencies
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