250 feared dead after mudslide sweeps through Afghan village

Kabul -No fewer than 250 persons were feared dead in Afghanistan after a mudslide swept through a village in the north-east, police confirmed on Friday.

“The mudslide damaged almost the entire village of Ab-e-Khoshk in Argu district this afternoon,” said Fazluddin Ayyar, Police Chief of Badakhshan Province.

“Reports say that about 250 people including women and children have gone missing and the locals say all of them have died,’’ Ayyar told journalists.

He said that 200 houses and large areas of farmland were destroyed in the mudslide which was triggered by heavy rain.

“Rescue teams have been dispatched to the area and are trying to evacuate the survivors,” he said

Last week, a total of 100 people were killed and more than 7,000 were displaced by flash floods in four northern provinces.

Afghanistan’s northern and central areas suffer heavy rainfall in the spring. (dpa/NAN)