Number of missing in US mudslide drops to 30 as death toll rises
Monday, 31 March 2014 00:34
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REUTERS: The number of people missing from a landslide, that sent a wall of mud cascading over dozens of homes in Washington state dropped to 30 from 90 on Saturday, but the death toll continues to climb as another body was found in the muddy heap of debris.
One week after the catastrophe, the unofficial body count rose to 28. The official tally of those killed is now 18 based on bodies found, extricated and identified by medical examiners.
But with the grim news also came word that the number of missing fell dramatically as officials were able to account for dozens of people as “safe and well.”
Rescue and recovery workers pushed through wind and rain on Saturday continuing to comb through debris left after the rain-soaked hillside gave way without warning and destroyed dozens of homes on the outskirts of the rural Washington town of Oso, northeast of Seattle.
“The number is so big and it’s so negative. It’s hard to grasp,” said volunteer Bob Michajla, 66, who has been helping to search part of the debris field that covers a square-mile (2.6 square-km). “These are all friends and neighbors and family. Everybody knows everybody in this valley.”
The process of identifying victims has been complicated by the fact that some bodies have not been found intact.
An estimated 180 people lived in the path of the landslide.
