Afghan Officials Abandon Search for Landslide Survivors
Afghan villagers gather at the site of a landslide at the Argo district in Badakhshan province, May 4, 2014.
Officials in northern Afghanistan have given up hope of finding any more survivors of a massive landslide that buried hundreds of villagers under tons of rock and mud, and have called off the search.
Rescuers also voiced fears of further landslides after days of torrential rains in the area bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.
On Saturday, authorities in the remote Badakhshan province village of Aab Bareek recovered only two bodies.
Rescuers on Sunday turned their focus to providing shelter, food and medical aid to around 4,000 people displaced by Friday's disaster.
Estimates of the dead and missing have varied widely, from a few hundred to more than 2,700. The final figure may never be known, because the scene has been declared a mass grave and many people are missing.
U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have offered formal condolences and promises of help.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
Survivors of the Afghan Landslides Wait for Aid
1/10Survivors sit in front of their tents near the site of the landslide that killed hundreds of people. Authorities are trying to help the 700 families displaced by the torrent of mud that swept through their village, in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 6, 2014.
2/10Survivors wait to receive food donations near the site of the landslide that buried Abi-Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 6, 2014.
3/10Afghanis show their injuries to local and international journalists after police fired shots into the air to disperse a crowd that had rushed toward a truck carrying aid, near the site of the landslide that buried Abi Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 6, 2014.
4/10Survivors wait to receive food donations near the site of the landslide that buried Abi-Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 6, 2014.
5/10Survivors gather around the lifeless body of a woman after her body was recovered from the landslide that buried Abi-Barik village, Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 6, 2014.
6/10An ariel view shows the site of the landslide that buried Abi Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 5, 2014.
7/10Afghans search for survivors after a massive landslide landslide buried a village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 2, 2014.
8/10This image made from AP video shows people searching for survivors after a massive landslide landslide buried a village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 2, 2014.
9/10This image made from AP video shows people searching for survivors after a massive landslide landslide buried a village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 2, 2014.
10/10Afghans search for survivors after a massive landslide landslide buried a village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 2, 2014.
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