2,000 Missing in Afghanistan Landslide

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Updated: Friday, 12:35 p.m. ET

A landslide in a remote village of northeastern Afghanistan buried about 300 homes and left about 2,000 people missing Friday, an official said.

A spokesman for the United Nations said at least 350 people were confirmed dead so far, the Associated Press reports. Search efforts were underway but rescuers were strapped for supplies and officials in nearby villages were worried about the possibility of additional landslides.

“It’s physically impossible right now,” Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb, of Badakshan province, told the AP. “We don’t have enough shovels; we need more machinery.”

Initial reports had tallied the number of missing people at 250, with seven rescued. The landslide reportedly occurred after intense rains caused a hill to collapse on the village Hobo Barik.

[AP]

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