Sunday Times 2
Afghan landslide: Over 2,000 people buried under mud up to 100 metres
KABUL, May 3 (Reuters) – Afghan officials gave up hope onSaturday of finding any survivors from a landslide in the remotenortheast, putting the death toll at more than 2,100, as the aideffort focused on the more than 4,000 people displaced.
Officials expressed concern the unstable hillside above thesite of the disaster may cave in again, threatening thethousands of homeless and hundreds of rescue workers who havearrived in Badakhshan province, bordering Tajikistan.
Afghan villagers gather at the site of a landslide at the Argo district in Badakhshan province, May 2, 2014. More than 2,000 people are trapped after a landslide smashed into a village in a remote mountainous area of northeastern Afghanistan on Friday, a spokesman for the local governor said, prompting a massive search and rescue effort. REUTERS
“More then 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead,”Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincialgovernor, told Reuters.
Villagers and a few dozen police, equipped with only basicdigging tools, resumed their search when daylight broke but itsoon became clear there was no hope of finding survivors buriedin up to 100 metres of mud.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said the focus wason the more than 4,000 people displaced, either directly as aresult of Friday’s landslide or as a precautionary measure fromvillages assessed to be at risk.
Their main needs were water, medical support, counsellingsupport, food and emergency shelter, said Ari Gaitanis, aspokesman from the United Nations Assistance Mission inAfghanistan.
The impoverished area, dotted with villages of mud-brickhomes nestled in valleys beside bare slopes, has been hit byseveral landslides in recent years.
The Afghan military flew rescue teams to the area today, as the remote mountain region is served by only narrow, poor roads which have themselves been damaged by more than a week of heavy rain.
“We have managed to get one excavator into the area, but digging looks helpless,” said Sayad. “It is impossible to find signs of living creatures or houses in most parts of the affected area.” He said the sheer size of the area affected, and the depth of the mud, meant only modern machinery would help in the rescue.
NATO-led coalition troops are on standby to assist but officials said the Afghan government had not asked for help.
Hundreds of people camped out overnight in near freezing conditions, although some were provided tents. Officials distributed food and water.
At least 100 people were being treated for injuries, mostly by medics who set up makeshift facilities in a stable building.
Triggered by heavy rain, the side of a mountain collapsed into the village at around 11 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Friday as people were trying to recover their belongings and livestock after a smaller landslip hit their homes a few hours earlier.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by difficult conditions due to the rain. Seasonal rains and spring snow melt have caused heavy destruction across large swathes of northern Afghanistan, killing more than 100 people.
U.S. President Barack Obama said American forces were on standby to help.
“Just as the United States has stood with the people of Afghanistan through a difficult decade, we stand ready to help our Afghan partners as they respond to this disaster, for even as our war there comes to an end this year, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people will endure,” he said.
About 30,000 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan, although that number is falling as Washington prepares to withdraw by the end of this year all combat troops who battled Taliban insurgents.
Police said they had provided a security ring around the area, which has been relatively free of insurgent attacks. The Taliban said in a statement they were also willing to provide security.