Afghan Landslide Toll Unlikely to Rise Above 500: Officials

Afghans search for survivors buried after a massive landslide in a village in Badakhshan province

Kabul:  Afghan officials have said that it is unlikely that the number of those killed in Friday' landslides will be above 500. The announcement of revised figures by Gul Mohammad Bedarhas, deputy governor of Badakhshan, came hours after earlier information that over 2,100 people had died in the landslide.

The UN has told NDTV it is maintaining its figure of around 350, as of now. But, whatever the final number of people killed is, this is the worst natural disaster in recent Afghanistan's history.

The focus now shifts to over 4,000 homeless survivors. The deputy head of the National Disaster Management Authority has said that 255 bodies have been recovered.

"Between two and three hundred houses are buried under the mud. My family, including my child and all my belongings, are buried here. We ask the government to help the local officials there, who don't have any kind of equipment," said Zia-ul-Haq, a survivor.

The search for more bodies has almost been given up, because of the mud that has been swept down after the landslides - in some areas it is as deep as 30 metres. Local elders have suggested a ceremony declaring the area of the devastation a mass grave. President Hamid Karzai has declared Sunday a day of national mourning.

Two landslides struck the village in Badakhshan province last evening during a wedding ceremony and traditional Friday prayers. The second landslide hit when rescuers from nearby areas had rushed in -entombing hundreds. The villagers have been hit doubly with much of their livestock also perishing.

US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have offered all the help that is needed.

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