By: Agencies
Source: http://mwcnews.net/
At least 500 people are dead and up to 2000 missing after a landslide buried villages in northern Afghanistan, officials have said.
Heavy rains in the area caused a hill to collapse on the village of Hobo Barik on Friday Badakshan province Governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has released a statement saying he is deeply saddened by the situation and has ordered the Disaster Management Authority to deal with the situation and deliver aid.
Meanwhile, rescue crews were working but did not have enough equipment Governor Adeep said, appealing for more shovels to dig people out. “It’s physically impossible right now. We don’t have enough shovels, we need more machinery.”
The Afghan army has been deployed to the area to help with rescue efforts.
Local authorities have evacuated nearby villages over concerns of more landslides within the area.
Badakshan province, nestled in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges and bordering China, is one of the most remote in the country.
Those in the area are used to landslides and avalanches. The most deadly event in the past two years occurred in February 2010, when more than 170 people were killed at the 3,800 metre-high Salang Pass, which is the major route through the mountains that connects the capital to the north.