Afghanistan: landslide kills 2 thousand people

(Vatican Radio) Afghan officials on Saturday abandoned hope of finding survivors from a landslide in the remote northeast, putting the death toll at more than 2 thousand 100, as aid efforts focused on the more than 4 thousand people displaced by the incident in Badakhshan province, bordering Tajikistan.

Authorities remain concerned that the hillside above the disaster site might cave in again, threatening the thousands of homeless and hundreds of rescue workers who have arrived on the scene.

The World Food Programme’s Asia-regional spokesperson, Silke Buhr, told Vatican Radio her organization is doing what it can. “The WFP is working with together with the humanitarian community and the local Afghan authorities to bring assistance,” she said, adding that by Saturday, they had already delivered 80 tons of food. Listen to Silke Buhr of the WFP: